BV  600  .S78  1915 
Strayer,  Paul  Moore,  1871- 
The  reconstruction  of  the 
church  with  regard  to  its 


THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE 
CHURCH 

WITH  REGARD  TO  ITS  MESSAGE  AND  PROGRAM 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO 
DALLAS   •    ATLANTA   •    SAN  FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


THE         M%ic.u^,'^' 
RECONSTRUCTION  OF 

THE  CHURCH 

WITH  REGARD  TO  ITS  MESSAGE  AND  PROGRAM 


BY 

V 


PAUL  MOORE  STRAYER 


^tka  Sorb 
THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 


Cofmonr,  igts 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Set  up  aad  Elcctrotjrped.    Pabluhcd  Januaiy,  igiS* 


TO  MY  FATHER 
WEBSTER  MATTHEW  STRAYER 

A  devoted  minister  of  Christ  for  over  half  a  century,  the  teacher 

and  pastor  of  my  youth,  and  my  encourager  and 

counsellor  in  the  Christain  ministry. 


PREFACE 

The  church  to-day  is  suffering  under  the  law  of 
diminishing  returns.  More  time  and  money,  more 
brain  and  heart  are  invested  in  it  than  ever  before, 
but  the  investment  does  not  bring  as  large  a  return 
per  unit  of  effort  as  a  generation  ago.  The  same 
is  true  of  business.  Formerly  men  waited  for  busi- 
ness; now  it  must  be  worked  for.  Advertising, 
traveling  salesmen,  show  windows,  free  delivery,  are 
needed,  if  one  expects  large  returns.  The  competi- 
tion which  has  compelled  these  changes  in  method 
is  felt  everywhere  because  of  the  multitudinous  and 
exacting  demands  of  modern  life.  Many  and  di- 
vergent interests  are  making  their  appeal  to  the  man 
of  to-day,  and  the  church  must  compete  with 
them  all. 

The  church  need  have  no  fear,  for  it  deals  with 
an  ineradicable  religious  instinct.  This  is  not  an 
irreligious,  it  is  a  religious  age.  The  spirit  of  re- 
ligion, which  is  the  mother  of  the  church,  has  grown 
far  beyond  its  pale.  The  world  is  full  of  religious 
feeling,  of  brotherly  kindness,  of  ethical  conduct, 
which  are  in  no  way  identified  with  the  church.  A 
moral  awakening  has  swept  over  the  country  and 
is  setting  new  standards  for  politics  and  business 
and  personal  life;  the  public  conscience  was  never 
so  sensitive  and  alert  as  it  is  to-day;  modern  life 

vii 


VllI  PREFACE 

is  aflame  with  social  feeling.  Yet  all  this  moral 
advance  has  not  registered  proportionately  in  a 
nobler  and  conquering  church. 

A  study  of  contemporary  church  history  reveals 
the  weakness  and  inadequacy  of  Protestant  religious 
organization.  The  strength  and  adequacy  of  Roman 
Catholic  religious  organization  are  so  much  con- 
cerned with  the  organization  itself  that  the  church 
has  a  smaller  part  in  the  ethical  and  spiritual 
progress  of  our  common  life  than  its  numbers  would 
lead  us  to  expect.  Efficiency  for  organization  pur- 
poses has  reached  its  maximum  in  the  Roman 
church,  but  efficiency  in  spiritual  leadership  and  com- 
munity service  has  not  been  attained  by  any  large 
number  of  Roman  or  Protestant  churches,  and  in 
many  cases  is  not  even  sought.  The  church  is 
not  making  its  appeal  nor  doing  its  work  with  in- 
telligence and  resourcefulness,  with  moral  earnest- 
ness and  confidence.  Hence  its  lack  of  success  in 
the  measure  that  it  ought  to  succeed.  The  time 
has  come  when  the  church  must  either  do  big  busi- 
ness, or  be  content  with  a  constantly  decreasing 
volume ;  must  capture  the  world,  or  stand  aside  and 
see  the  world  pass  it  by. 

I  have  a  resolute  faith  in  the  church.  I  am 
heartily  enthusiastic  over  my  calling,  and  believe 
that  the  Qiristian  ministry  offers  the  greatest  oppor- 
tunity for  moral  leadership  in  the  world  to-day.  I 
am  confident  that  the  church  can  be  so  adapted  to 
its  new  tasks  as  to  fulfill  its  magnificent  mission, 
and  to  be  attractive  to  all  real  men  and  women  who 


PREFACE  IX 

have  a  high  purpose  to  serve  and  help.  It  was  a 
passionate  love  for  Israel  and  a  sure  trust  in  Je- 
hovah that  drove  the  prophets  to  their  messages  of 
condemnation,  and  in  this  respect  at  least  many- 
Christian  ministers  of  to-day  resemble  the  old 
Hebrew  preachers :  we  are  so  devoted  to  the  church 
that  we  are  hurt  by  its  defects  and  cannot  bear 
to  see  them  perpetuated.  If  the  book  here  sub- 
mitted to  the  public  contains  criticism  and  even 
condemnation,  it  has  none  which  lacks  a  construc- 
tive purpose,  none  from  which  the  spirit  of  loving 
and  appreciative  understanding  is  absent,  none 
which  does  not  seek  earnestly  for  ways  in  which 
the  church  may  come  to  its  own. 

The  eternal  spiritual  message  of  the  church  needs 
to  be  reclothed  to  meet  the  demands  of  this  new 
industrial  age.  The  circle  of  the  church  ought  to 
be  widened  to  embrace  and  utilize  the  immense 
amount  of  unconscious  and  "anonymous  religion" 
that  exists  outside  the  church.  The  church  must 
be  Christianized  by  bringing  the  daily  life  and  busi- 
ness practices  of  its  members  into  line  with  the 
law  of  Christ.  To  this  task.  Part  I  of  this  volume 
is  addressed.  Part  II  is  a  diagnosis  of  the  present 
situation  of  the  church  in  the  light  of  this  larger 
purpose,  and  with  special  reference  to  its  program 
and  method.  Part  III  points  out  the  directions  in 
which  reconstruction  is  most  needed,  and  offers 
suggestions  growing  out  of  experience  and  a  com- 
mon judgment  for  greater  efficiency. 

In  the  matter  of  remedy  I  have  naturally  writ- 


X  PREFACE 

ten  with  less  assurance.  I  am  an  experimenter 
myself.  No  panacea  is  given.  There  is  none  to 
give.  I  have  not  attempted  to  draw  up  a  standard 
church  program,  for  each  church  must  recast  its 
own  program  in  the  light  of  the  needs  of  its  own 
community  and  of  the  forces  available  to  meet 
them;  but  I  have  tried  to  make  clear  that  a  con- 
structive program  for  community  service  is  abso- 
lutely essential  if  the  church  is  to  be  efficient.  I 
shall  be  content  if  I  succeed  in  inciting  local  church 
leaders  to  make  a  careful  study  of  their  field  and 
to  plan  their  church  program  for  a  ministry  fitted 
to  their  own  community  needs.  With  profound 
sympathy  for  those  in  hard,  unresponsive  fields,  I 
have  the  utmost  confidence  in  the  outcome  wherever 
the  church  grapples  with  its  problem  with  enthusi- 
asm, courage  and  initiative. 

The  position  which  I  have  tried  to  take  is  irenic. 
I  would  be  an  interpreter  and  reconciler.  I  covet 
and  seek  a  better  understanding  between  the  old 
and  the  new,  between  friends  of  the  church  and  its 
critics,  between  the  privileged  class  and  the  toilers. 
But  in  writing  these  pages  I  have  had  chiefly  in 
mind  those  in  the  church  who  have  a  sturdy  faith 
in  organized  religion,  who  believe  that  the  church 
has  a  real  work  to  do  in  our  changing  social  order 
and  who  are  seeking  the  best  methods  by  which 
it  can  fill  its  place ;  the  men  in  business  who  have  a 
vision  of  what  their  genius  for  organization  and 
production  ought  to  mean  to  the  whole  community ; 
the  working  men  whose  interest  in  the  common 


PREFACE  XI 

good  IS  bigger  than  self-interest;  and  all  optimists 
who,  by  seeing  the  best  in  others,  discover  the  way 
to  make  the  best  better. 

In  offering  this  book  as  a  small  contribution  to  a 
great  common  cause,  I  appeal  to  all  who  love  the 
church  to  strike  hands  for  another  and  mightier 
crusade.  The  call  of  God  is  loud  and  clear  to  this 
generation.  It  has  become  unmistakable  since  this 
sudden  insanity  of  war  has  fallen  upon  Europe. 
One  has  a  sinking  of  the  heart  when  he  thinks 
of  the  passions  which  have  been  set  loose  among 
our  brothers  across  the  sea.  We  must  wait  for 
dispassionate  history  to  weigh  in  its  balance  the 
causes  of  this  savage  bloodshed  and  carnage,  but  on 
one  point  all  are  agreed:  the  claim  that  what  we 
call  Christendom  is  superior  to  what  we  speak 
of  as  Heathendom  is  challenged.  The  Christian 
church  must  meet  this  challenge  or  recall  its  mis- 
sionaries. Christianity  has  made  less  impression  on 
our  Western  civilization  than  we  thought,  and  unless 
we  Christianize  Christendom  we  must  stand  silent 
and  humbled  before  the  religions  of  Asia.  This 
challenge  is  imperative  to  the  church  of  Europe 
which  had  no  sure  word  to  speak  amid  the  clamor 
of  war,  and  to  which  no  man  turned  for  guidance. 
The  challenge  is  equally  imperative  to  the  church 
of  America,  for  the  fear  and  distrust  of  man  for 
his  fellow  man,  the  feelings  of  pride  and  prejudice, 
and  the  commercial  spirit,  which  together  gave  birth 
to  militarism  and  are  responsible  for  European 
strife,  are  in  great  measure  to  be  found  in  our  own 


XU  PREFACE 

social  and  industrial  life.    We  have  yet  to  Chris- 
tianize America. 

In  this  hour  of  testing  the  church  in  turn  chal- 
lenges everyone  who  believes  in  it,  to  help  it 
minister  to  all  the  people,  redeem  the  cities  from 
drunkenness  and  lust  and  social  waste,  and  realize 
its  ideals  of  moral  and  spiritual  leadership.  He  who 
fails  in  this  crisis  to  do  his  utmost  to  help  the 
church  perform  its  task,  he  who  is  indifferent  or 
recreant  now,  either  has  no  faith  in  the  Christian 
church  or  is  a  traitor  to  the  cause  of  humanity.  It 
is  a  tremendous  task,  but  our  very  recognition  of 
it  is  evidence  that  God  has  given  us  the  power  to 
perform  it.    Let  no  man^s  heart  fail ! 

Paul  Moore  Stray  eel 

Rochester,  N.  Y.,  September  20,  1914. 


CONTENTS 

Part  I.    A  Revised  Message  for  the  Church  of  Today 
I.    The  Need  op  a  Social  Gospel      .      .      .      .        i 
II.    The  Spiritual  Possibilities  of  Business  Life        25 
(II.    The  Church  and  the  Group  of  Toil  .       .       .52 
IV.    How  to  Christianize  a  Competitive  World     .      86 

Part  II.    The  Church  at  the  Parting  of  the  Ways 

I.    What  the  Church  Is  For 107 

II.    Where  the  Church  Fails 128 

III.    Why  the  Church  Has  Been  Halted  .       .       .144 

Part  III.    Reconstructing  the  Program 

I.    The  Efficiency  Test  in  Church  Activities     .     161 
n.    Reorganizing  the  Church  Services     .       .       .174 
III.    A  Modern  Propaganda  for  the  Old  Faith      .     200 

Community  Service 221 

Advertising  the  Church 250 

VI.    The  Opportunity  of  the  Rural  Church  .       .262 

VII.    The  Church  a  Social  and  Recreational  Center    275 

VIII.    Getting  the  Churches  Together       .      .      .289 


IV. 
V. 


THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE 
CHURCH 

WITH  REGARD  TO  ITS  MESSAGE  AND  PROGRAM 


THE    RECONSTRUCTION   OF 
THE  CHURCH 

With  Regard  to  Its  Message  and  Program 

PART    I 

A  Re:visi:d  Me:ssage:  i^or  the:  Church  o^ 
To-day 

CHAPTER   I 

THE  NEED  OF  A  SOCIAL  GOSPEL 

This  is  the  age  of  a  new  social  consciousness. 
Literature  throbs  with  it.  The  daily  press  with 
its  record  of  contemporary  history  reflects  it.  It 
has  made  its  way  into  the  curricula  of  college  and 
university.  Political  parties  are  being  re-aligned 
because  of  it.  Legislators  are  grappling  with  it  as 
with  some  new  and  mighty  force  with  which  they 
are  unfamiliar.  Not  only  the  agitator  and  the 
demagogue  but  statesmen  and  all  thoughtful  citi- 
zens are  occupied  with  social  problems.  These 
problems  are  not  pushed  forward  by  the  poor,  and 
interest  in  them  is  not  confined  to  times  of  indus- 

I 


2  THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF   THE   CHURCH 

trial  depression,  but  they  engage  the  attention  of 
the  rich  and  prosperous.* 

Yet  few  appreciate  the  full  significance  of  the 
social  forces  now  active  throughout  the  world.  The 
social  reorganization  taking  place  in  Germany,  Eng- 
land, Turkey,  China,  India,  and  America  is  not 
less  than  revolutionary.  Evolution  has  been  at 
work  for  centuries,  and  the  Kingdom  of  God  is 
ever  among  us,  but  evolution  at  some  point  be- 
comes revolutionary  when  the  Kingdom  is  mightily 
set  forward  or  back.  The  moment  of  birth  is  such 
a  time,  and  to-day  we  are  at  the  birth  of  a  new 
social  order.  Far-reaching  social  movements  are 
nearing  their  peak,  and  whether  they  be  toward 
destruction  or  fulfillment  is  the  question  of  most 
vital  importance.  The  social  revolution  is  on!  It 
cannot  be  stopped.    It  may  be  guided. 

I  have  absolute  faith  in  the  honesty  of  the  hu- 
man heart  and  the  trustworthiness  of  the  human 
reason.  All  that  is  needed  are  men  of  good  will 
and  sound  judgment  to  keep  ahead  and  guide 
things,  conserving  the  best  in  the  past  and  heading 
resolutely  toward  full  justice  and  fairness.  To 
such  leadership  the  church  is  called,  for  at  the 
basis  of  the  social  revolution  is  a  new  sense  of 
human  values.  The  great  faith  that  man  is  more 
than  property  is  driving  on  to  a  readjustment  of 
social  and  industrial  life.  It  may  be  called  an 
economic  movement,  but  the  motive  power  behind 

*  Samuel  Plantz,  "The  Church  and  the  Social  Prob- 
lem," p.  i6. 


THE   NEED  OF  A  SOCIAL   GOSPEL  3 

it  is  this  sense  of  human  values.  While  man  was 
property,  of  course  property  was  the  main  consid- 
eration, and  the  laws  that  sprang  from  that  period 
held  over.  So  when  chattel  slavery  was  abolished 
and  human  beings  could  no  longer  be  held  as 
property,  still  property  rights  took  precedence  of 
human  rights.  But  to-day  it  is  resolutely  main- 
tained that  property  was  made  for  man  and  not 
man  for  property.  There  are  few  who  dissent 
from  this.  It  is  human  interest  which  is  reshap- 
ing our  politics,  remaking  our  laws,  and  reorgan- 
izing our  social  and  economic  institutions. 

Now  humanity  is  the  bottom  interest  of  religion, 
and  the  culture  and  propagation  of  religion  is  the 
business  of  the  church.  Therefore  not  only  is  the 
church  peculiarly  adapted  to  take  the  lead  in  the 
present  social  reconstruction,  but  leadership  is  a 
responsibility  laid  upon  it.  If  the  reconstruction  is 
carried  forward  without  the  guidance  of  religion, 
if  with  self-interest  as  motive  the  many  succeed  in 
wresting  from  the  few  their  special  privilege,  and 
might  constitutes  right,  it  will  be  but  a  recrudes- 
cence of  the  jungle.  But,  if  this  reconstruction  pe- 
riod keep  for  motive-power  human  interest  and 
religious  feeling,  then  will  it  be  real  progress 
toward  liberty,  equality  and  fraternity. 

While  realizing  that  the  religious  motive  is  our 
main  dependence  for  social  reconstruction,  there 
are  those  who  feel  that  the  church  as  such  must 
stand  apart  from  social  movements,  and  that  the 


4  THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF  THE   CHURCH 

preacher  should  avoid  all  definite  social  instruc- 
tion. On  the  other  hand  there  are  those  who  feel 
that  social  effort  should  absorb  the  time  and 
thought  of  the  church  and  that  what  doesn't  make 
directly  for  social  betterment  is  old-fashioned  and 
sentimental  and  futile.  The  truth  lies  somewhere 
between  these  two  positions.  The  -church's  deep 
concern  is  with  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  its  goal  is 
the  Kingdom  of  God  here  on  earth ;  but  the  mean- 
ing of  these  great  phrases,  "the  fruits  of  the  Spirit" 
and  "the  Kingdom  of  God"  is  found  only  in  the 
functioning  of  the  Spirit  of  God  through  human 
effort  for  righteousness,  justice,  happiness  and 
peace.  Logically  and  naturally  the  first  task  of  the 
church  is  to  feed  the  roots  of  life  that  the  desired 
fruits  may  be  brought  forth.  The  only  form  of 
Christianity  worth  having  is  "applied  Christianity," 
but  underneath  and  fructifying  social  service  are 
faith  and  hope  and  love.  Social  activities  are  after 
all  but  branches,  and  cannot  bear  fruit  if  the  spir- 
itual roots  of  life  are  dead. 

Clear-sighted  welfare  workers  realize  that  the 
religious  impulse  is  necessary  to  make  social  service 
effectual  and  permanent,  and  it  is  only  the  ama- 
teurish, half-baked  social  worker  who  leaves  out  of 
his  account  the  religious  motive.  Also  the  open- 
eyed  worker  in  the  definitely  religious  field  recog- 
nizes that  the  really  vital  religious  questions  to-day 
are  those  raised  by  the  social  order.  Our  most 
intense  religious  interest  is  the  interest  in  social 
reconstruction.    Social  responsibility  is  the  directest 


THE   NEED  OF  A  SOCIAL  GOSPEL  5 

approach  to  the  modern  conscience,  and  the  con- 
science aroused  to  its  social  duty  becomes  naturally- 
more  religious,  for  as  one  hand  goes  out  to  help  our 
brother  the  other  reaches  up  to  find  our  Father. 
"Social  responsibility  is  the  chief  sacrament  of  re- 
ligion to-day."  ^ 

Therefore  not  only  must  the  religious  teacher 
feed  the  roots  of  life,  he  must  also  show  how  faith 
and  hope  and  love  are  to  operate  for  the  bringing  in 
of  the  Kingdom.  We  have  succeeded  in  stimulat- 
ing religious  emotion,  in  nourishing  faith  and  hope, 
in  creating  good  impulses,  in  inducing  what  may  be 
called  the  "Sunday  glow,"  but  we  have  failed  to 
give  direction  to  the  feelings  and  impulses  which 
we  have  inspired.  In  a  religious  service  deep  emo- 
tions are  appealed  to,  but  persons  go  from  church 
and  forget,  or  do  not  know  how,  to  turn  the  power 
of  those  emotions  into  their  lives.  In  church  one 
sometimes  has  a  mysterious  feeling  of  exaltation 
and  power,  which  may  actually  do  harm  in  two 
ways.  First,  one  who  can  feel  spiritual  emotion 
may  be  satisfied  that  this  makes  him  religious,  and 
so  neglect  to  apply  the  standards  of  Christ  to  his 
daily  life;  and,  second,  he  may  be  stirred  by  oft- 
repeated  appeals,  but  not  act  upon  those  appeals, 
forgetting  on  Monday  and  Tuesday  the  feelings 
of  Sunday,  failing  to  connect  his  emotional  life  with 
his  volitional,  until  the  emotions  cease  to  influence 
conduct  at  all.    A  religious  emotion  to  be  of  value 

*  Henry  Sloane  Coffin  in  address  to  graduating  class  of 
Yale  Divinity  School,  June  7,  191 1. 


6  THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

must  register  in  conduct.  If  the  feeling  that  comes 
to  us  under  a  religious  appeal  is  a  kind  of  spiritual 
intoxication  which  does  not  influence  our  conduct, 
it  is  not  only  useless  but  a  source  of  peril. 

The  church  has  seemed  remote  from  the  com- 
mon life  of  the  people  for  the  reason  of  this  unre- 
latedness  between  Sunday  and  the  weekday.  We 
have  protested  that  there  is  no  difference  between 
sacred  and  secular,  but  we  have  not  yet  permitted 
ourselves  to  discuss  in  the  churches  those  problems 
which  were  once  termed  secular.  Tradition  has 
bound  us,  convention  has  limited  us,  and  church 
canons  have  hindered  us.  The  result  is  not  insin- 
cerity so  much  as  unreality;  not  evasion  of  practi- 
cal issues  so  much  as  failure  to  meet  them. 

In  the  last  century  Thomas  Carlyle  said  that  the 
"beautifulest"  object  one  sees  on  the  earth  is  the 
man  who  stands  in  the  pulpit  to  speak  of  spiritual 
things.  'This  speaking  man  has  indeed,  in  these 
times,  wandered  terribly  from  the  point;  yet  at 
bottom,  whom  have  we  to  compare  with  him?  .  .  . 
I  wish  he  would  find  the  point  again,  this  speaking 
one;  and  stick  to  it  with  tenacity  and  deadly  en- 
ergy ;  for  there  is  need  of  him  yet !  .  .  .  Could  he 
but  find  the  point  again,  take  the  old  spectacles  off 
his  nose,  and  looking  up,  discover  almost  in  con- 
tact with  him,  what  the  real  Satan  and  soul-devour- 
ing, world-devouring  Devil,  now  is  !"  ^ 

Nearer  our  time  a  brilliant  student  of  contempo- 
rary religion  complains  that  the  authorized  spiritual 

""Past  and  Present,"  Book  IV,  Ch.  i. 


THE   NEED   OF   A   SOCIAL   GOSPEL  / 

teachers  of  his  day  had  so  Httle  Hght  to  throw  on 
the  social  problems  which  pressed  then  as  now  for 
solution.  Religion  had  become  a  thing  of  the  indi- 
vidual Hfe  alone.  "What  is  wanted,"  he  says,  "is 
the  rise  of  a  new  order  of  teachers  whose  business 
it  would  be  to  investigate  and  to  teach  the  true 
relation  of  man  to  the  universe  and  to  society,  the 
true  Ideal  he  should  worship,  the  course  which  the 
history  of  mankind  has  taken  hitherto,  in  order 
that,  upon  a  full  view  of  what  is  possible  and  de- 
sirable, men  should  live  and  organize  themselves 
for  the  future."  ^ 

One  has  only  to  pick  up  any  volume  of  sermons 
printed  before  the  beginning  of  this  century  to  see 
how  little  was  said  on  social  questions.  There  were 
preachers  with  an  immense  social  passion,  but  they 
gave  their  social  message  through  books  and  pam- 
phlets rather  than  in  the  pulpit.  The  work  of  the 
large  majority  of  the  church's  ministers  was  in 
sharp  contrast  to  that  of  the  great  Hebrew  prophets 
who  were  mighty  meddlers  in  politics,  who  had  a 
sense  of  their  responsibility  as  moral  teachers,  who 
were  quick  to  see  the  sufferings  of  the  poor  and 
the  wrongs  of  the  weak,  who  sat  in  judgment  on 
the  social  conditions  of  their  time,  who  pointed  out 
injustice  wherever  it  was  practiced,  and  made  it 
their  business  to  see  that  justice  was  done. 

The  Christian  Church  has  oscillated  between  the 
prophets'  moral  and  social  leadership  in  this  pres- 
ent world  and  the  priestly  religion  of  otherworld- 
*Sir  John  Seeley  in  "Natural  Religion." 


8  THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

liness,  with  a  strong  preference  for  the  less  stormy 
religion  of  otherworldliness.  The  historic  fear  that 
religion  may  become  less  spiritual  when  it  deals 
with  actual  conditions  on  this  planet  and  with  pres- 
ent human  needs  finds  classic  expression  in  these 
sturdy  lines  of  Browning: 

"Earthly  incitements  that  mankind  serve  God 
For  man's  sole  sake — not  God's  and  therefore  man's— 
Till  at  last  who  distinguishes  the  sun 
From  a  mere  Druid  fire  on  a  far  mount?"* 

But  who  can  say  when  man  serves  God  "for  man's 
sole  sake"?  The  poet  is  discriminating  in  that  he 
recognizes  a  genuine  religious  impulse  at  the  mo- 
tive center  of  this  zeal  for  humanity,  but  who  can 
discriminate  between  the  human  and  divine  side  of 
a  religious  impulse?  True,  there  are  some  social 
workers  who  disclaim  any  religious  motive  and 
avow  that  their  interest  in  humanity  is  purely  hu- 
manitarian, but  by  what  tests  do  they  select  one 
motive  from  the  other?  What  is  it  that  differen- 
tiates the  attitude  of  man  toward  man  from  that  of 
man  toward  the  beast  of  the  field,  or  beasts  toward 
one  another,  if  it  be  not  this  consciousness,  how- 
ever dim  and  inarticulate,  that  all  humans  have  a 
peculiar  significance  in  that  they  are  somehow  re- 
lated to  the  Invisible?  All  social  obligation  to  be 
permanent  grows  out  of  a  sense  of  relationship  to 
the  great  unseen  Spirit,  although  that  sense  of  re- 
lationship be  unrecognized. 
*  "The  Ring  and  the  Book,"  The  Pope. 


THE  NEED  OF  A  SOCIAL  GOSPEL  9 

The  interdependence  of  personal  religion  and 
social  responsibility  is  stated  in  one  of  the  greatest 
words  spoken  by  the  Master  of  our  faith,  "For 
their  sakes  I  sanctify  myself."  ^  "For  their  sakes" 
— that  is  the  social  motive.  "I  sanctify  myself" — 
that  is  personal  religion.  Personal  religion  has 
been  thought  of  as  a  means  whereby  a  man  got  his 
own  soul  saved,  and  a  common  conception  of  sal- 
vation was  that  out  of  the  wreck  of  this  lost  world 
the  soul  of  a  man  might  be  rescued.  But  to-day 
the  noble  conception  which  stands  out  most  strongly 
in  our  religious  thinking  is  that,  instead  of  trying 
to  save  our  own  souls  out  of  the  wreck  of  a  lost 
world,  men  should  devote  themselves  to  the  saving 
of  the  world.  However,  care  for  one's  own  life 
and  care  for  the  life  of  others  are  not  mutually 
exclusive  states  of  feeling.  The  blending  of  the 
social  and  religious  motive  in  Christ's  great  saying 
finds  a  response  in  every  mind  and  heart,  but  the 
prejudice  of  many  devout  souls  is  raised  by  the 
way  in  which  this  view  of  religious  duty  is  some- 
times expressed  to-day.  Not  infrequently  some 
such  remark  as  this  is  made  by  good  and  useful 
folk:  *T  am  so  busy  trying  to  help  those  about 
me  that  I  have  almost  forgotten  that  I  have  a  soul 
myself."  This  is  overstating  the  case,  though  it 
was  Charles  Kingsley  to  whom  the  remark  is  first 
credited.  "For  their  sakes"  ?  yes ;  but  also,  "I  sanc- 
tify myself." 

Social  responsibility  is  not  a  substitute  for  per- 
*  John  17 :  19. 


lO         THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

sonal  religion;  it  is  the  expansion  of  personal  re- 
ligion. We  can  be  of  small  use  to  the  world  of 
men  unless  there  is  in  us  a  strong,  loving,  and  aspir- 
ing soul;  and  we  cannot  keep  our  soul  alive  unless 
side  by  side  with  our  personal  love  for  God  is  a 
deep  and  earnest  concern  for  the  good  of  others. 
The  new  social  conscience  is  the  guarantee  of  the 
reality  of  religious  feeling  and  each  depends  upon 
the  other.  The  socialization  of  religion  is  really 
the  Christianizing  of  religion;  "For  their  sakes  I 
sanctify  myself." 

To  sum  up,  then,  social  feehng  to  be  persistent 
must  rest  upon  a  spiritual  impulse,  and  a  spiritual 
impulse  to  be  real  must  function  in  social  relation- 
ships. Hence  while  there  is  need  for  careful  and 
thoughtful  statement  of  the  Christian  position 
which  once  again  is  dominant,  there  is  no  more 
danger  of  an  over-emphasis  on  social  service,  which 
is  well  named  **the  characteristic  twentieth  century 
version  of  the  gospel,"  than  there  is  that  evidence 
can  be  made  too  strong.  The  effort  of  man  to  up- 
lift and  redeem  the  life  of  men  is  the  only  evidence 
worth  considering  of  a  man's  love  for  God. 

The  reasons  why  Christianity  has  never  under- 
taken the  work  of  social  reconstruction,  as  given 
by  Prof.  Rauschenbusch,  are  mainly,  the  early  ex- 
pectation of  Christ's  speedy  return,  the  limitations 
of  primitive  Christianity,  otherworldliness,  the  as- 
cetic and  monastic  tendencies,  ceremonialism, 
churchliness,  and  the  union  of  church  and  state. 
These  have  practically  disappeared   from  modern 


THE   NEED   OF   A   SOCIAL   GOSPEL  II 

life.^  But  it  takes  time  for  a  great  body  radically 
to  change  its  method.  The  preacher  is  diffident  in 
grappling  with  our  present  social  maladjustment 
because  the  problems  involved  are  such  as  require 
the  vision  and  insight  of  a  prophet.  The  problems 
with  which  society  is  now  face  to  face  are  vaster 
and  more  complicated  than  those  which  confronted 
Hebrew  prophecy.  Also  it  is  much  easier  to  dis- 
cuss doctrine  than  life,  to  preach  on  the  minor  mor- 
alities than  on  the  sins  of  society.  Such  vision  as 
the  preacher  does  have  often  runs  counter  to  the 
practice  of  many  in  his  congregation,  and  he  is 
not  sure  enough  of  himself  to  sit  in  judgment  on 
others. 

And  even  if  one  were  fully  equipped  to  pre- 
scribe the  cure  for  social  injustice  and  economic 
wrong,  the  temptation  to  silence  is  tremendous.  It 
is  very  easy  to  satisfy  oneself  that  he  has  done  his 
full  duty  when  he  has  gibbeted  the  Pharisees  and 
pronounced  a  philippic  against  the  sins  of  Old  Tes- 
tament times.  No  one  objects  to  pulpit  denuncia- 
tions of  bad  social  and  political  conditions  3,000 
years  ago,  and  one  may  denounce  Ahab  and  Jere- 
boam  until  he  is  blue  in  the  face.  Balaam  and 
Achan  and  Herod  the  tetrarch  and  the  Judaizers 
furnish  materials  for  mighty  sermons  of  wrath. 
Nobody  takes  offense  at  vehemence  so  directed  and 
the  preacher  may  persuade  himself  that  he  has 
been  a  faithful  preacher  of  social  justice.  Thus 
he  has  the  delicious  feeling  that  he  is  an  "exposi- 

*  "Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis,"  Ch.  IV. 


12         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

tory  preacher"  and  that  he  draws  his  illustrations 
from  the  Bible,  and  thus  also  no  one  in  the  congre- 
gation who  loves  the  ''hire  of  wrong-doing,"  no 
covetous  person,  no  libertine,  no  modern  Pharisee 
will  be  disturbed. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  preacher  is  con- 
scious of  self-deception.  The  utterance  of  every 
public  speaker  is  irresistibly  and  unconsciously 
modified  by  the  opinions  of  those  he  habitually  ad- 
dresses. One  is  always  limited  by  his  environment 
without  recognizing  it.  Also,  in  many  cases,  the 
preacher  intentionally  adapts  his  teaching  to  the 
known  views  of  his  congregation.  This  cannot  often 
be  set  down  to  lack  of  courage,  but  usually  it  is  based 
upon  sound  judgment  and  common  sense.  The 
philosophy  of  teaching  requires  that  one  build  upon 
experience.^  The  successful  teacher  starts  with  the 
knowledge  and  point  of  view  of  his  pupils.  He 
goes  only  as  fast  as  they  can  follow  him.  To  pass 
from  long  division  to  calculus  would  violate  every 
rule  of  pedagogy.  And  the  preacher  has  a  very 
delicate  task  in  correcting  the  inherited  ideas  of  a 
miscellaneous  congregation  on  social  questions,  or 
on  theological  problems,  for  that  matter.  Tact  is 
required  not  to  get  too  far  ahead  of  the  average 
church-goer,  for  he  is  not  a  student  of  social  prob- 

*"When  Solon  was  asked,"  says  Plutarch,  "if  he  had 
given  the  Athenians  the  best  possible  laws,  he  answered 
that  they  were  as  good  as  the  people  could  then  receive." 
And  a  greater  than  Solon  said,  "I  have  many  things  to 
tell  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now." 


THE  NEED  OF  A  SOCIAL  GOSPEL  I3 

lems  and  often  his  personal  interest  is  involved  in 
the  existing  social  order.  To  readjust  one's  opin- 
ions as  to  practices  long  accepted  is  something  of 
an  undertaking,  and  it  is  tremendously  aggravated 
by  the  personal  equation  and  by  financial  interest. 
The  preacher  must  be  a  leader,  not  a  trimmer,  but 
he  must  use  Christian  courtesy  and  tact.  It  is  very 
easy  to  give  offense  and  to  lose  that  power  to  in- 
fluence which  we  all  covet.  Let  men  once  feel  that 
they  are  being  assailed  without  full  recognition  of 
the  difficulties  under  which  they  labor,  and  forth- 
with they  become  antagonistic.  But  the  balance 
between  expediency  and  faithfulness  must  be  kept, 
however  delicate  it  may  be. 

A  rapidly  decreasing  number  of  church  congre- 
gations prefer  that  the  minister  keep  to  rather  nar- 
row limits.  They  want  him  to  speak  of  how  to  bear 
personal  sorrow  and  loss,  of  patience  and  joy  and 
hope.  They  like  him,  and  he  also  likes  to  speak  words 
of  comfort  and  cheer,  to  sound  soothing  notes,  to 
say  "Peace,  peace"  even  when  there  is  no  peace. 
On  Sunday  people  want  rest  and  quiet.  They 
have  fighting  enough  during  the  week  and  some 
of  them  would  Hke  on  Sunday  to  be  let  alone.  They 
don't  want  to  be  jostled  and  disturbed,  so  that  they 
must  revise  their  opinions  and  recast  their  moral 
judgments.  Too  often  the  demand  for  "the  old 
gospel"  is  only  a  demand  for  the  teachings  that  are 
familiar,  and  for  the  simple,  unexacting  appeals  to 
which  people  are  accustomed. 

As  a  result  of  all  these  factors,  the  Christian 


14         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

minister  has  not  yet  assumed  that  leadership  which 
properly  belongs  to  him  in  shaping  the  moral  issues 
of  this  social  reconstruction.  Jane  Addams  com- 
plains that  even  in  this  age  of  the  social  question  it 
is  to  the  theater,  not  the  church,  that  men  go  to 
hear  the  problems  of  capital  and  labor,  work  and 
wages,  class  and  class,  seriously  grappled  with. 
Some  accuse  the  church  of  spending  its  time  in 
talking  about  the  world  to  come  and  saying  noth- 
ing about  this  present  life;  of  considering  this 
world  as  a  place  to  get  out  of  rather  than  to  remain 
in  and  make  as  pleasant  as  possible  meanwhile;  of 
being  concerned  with  "labeling  men  and  women 
for  transportation  to  a  realm  unknown,"  rather 
than  with  the  reconstruction  of  society,  which  was 
the  Master's  concern  when  He  spoke  of  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven.  This  of  course  is  not  true.  One 
rarely  hears  a  sermon  on  heaven  these  days,  but  we 
have  given  some  excuse  for  such  criticism.  Where 
there  is  so  much  smoke  there  must  be  some  fire. 
Our  preaching  even  yet  has  too  little  to  do  with 
conduct  and  the  common  problems  of  life. 

Dr.  Parkhurst  reckons  that  there  is  more  pulpit 
politics  on  Thanksgiving  Day  than  all  the  rest  of 
the  year  put  together.  That,  he  says,  is  because 
Thanksgiving  Day  is  thought  to  be  only  about  one- 
half  as  holy  as  the  Sabbath  and  this  extra  50  per 
cent,  of  secularity  permits  us  to  forget  all  about 
heaven  and  say  something  about  the  nation,  the 
government,  and  the  industrial  life  of  the  people. 
Ordinarily  we  have  confined  ourselves  to  the  prob- 


THE   NEED   OF   A  SOCIAL  GOSPEL  1 5 

lems  of  personal  morality  which  we  have  solved 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  Here  we  have  little  to 
say  that  is  new,  for  Christian  standards  of  ethics 
are  familiar  to  Western  people.  So  long  as  we 
restrict  ourselves  to  personal  morality  we  are  say- 
ing nothing  that  the  people  do  not  know  already. 
And  that  great  new  world  of  industry  with  its 
immense  ethical  problems,  where  men  are  losing 
their  way  for  want  of  guidance,  we  moral  teach- 
ers have  scarcely  entered. 

What  is  needed  in  the  pulpit  to-day  is  a  religious 
interpretation  of  all  life.  Every  human  relation- 
ship raises  a  moral  question,  but  to  many  it  has 
never  occurred  that  moral  issues  are  involved  in 
their  industrial  and  economic  and  social  relation- 
ships, or  even  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  social 
problem.  They  have  heard  us  speak  of  the  reli- 
gious aspects  of  business  and  the  moral  values  at 
stake  in  commerce  and  politics,  but  these  are  only 
phrases  to  them.  We  do  not  go  far  enough  for 
average  hearers.  The  preachment  on  Sunday  does 
not  relate  to  what  they  do  on  Saturday,  because 
we  do  not  relate  it.  Hence  we  have  no  real  place 
in  the  experience  of  an  increasing  number,  for  our 
message  does  not  grapple  the  actual  problems  which 
engage  them  most  of  the  time.  Men  turn  to  us 
when  sorrow  comes,  but  have  no  sense  of  need  of 
us  in  the  strong  working-day.  Neither  the  toiler 
nor  the  captain  of  industry  seems  to  feel  that  he 
cannot  get  along  without  us,  and  to  both  we  owe  a 
duty. 


l6         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

The  commonest  criticism  of  the  preacher  is  that 
he  does  not  know  the  world  he  lives  in,  and  that  he 
is  rather  sentimental  and  visionary.  If  that  be  true 
it  is  reason  enough  to  keep  men  from  seeking  his 
guidance  in  the  big,  baffling  problems  of  the  social 
order.  Of  some  men  and  in  some  part  this  criti- 
cism is  true,  but  the  fact  that  a  man  is  an  idealist 
is,  too  often,  falsely  assumed  to  mean  that  he  does 
not  know  his  world.  The  minister  of  to-day  may 
not  be  as  well  qualified  to  decide  economic  and  in- 
dustrial questions  as  the  business  man,  for  he  hasn't 
the  special  training,  but  he  is  in  a  better  position 
than  the  men  directly  concerned  to  pass  judgment 
upon  the  moral  problems  involved  in  the  commer- 
cial world.  His  relation  to  industrial  and  economic 
problems  is  academic  and,  when  he  has  given  them 
proper  study  and  thought,  his  opinions  are  more 
likely  to  be  unprejudiced  and  disinterested.  The 
notion  that  the  preacher  is  ignorant  of  what  is  go- 
ing on  about  him  is  largely  given  rise  to  by  our 
habit  and  method  of  dealing  with  virtue  and  vice 
too  much  in  the  abstract.  Men  listen  to  us  with  the 
''never  hit  me"  air,  and  we  must  come  nearer  to 
the  heart  of  the  matter.  Where  we  are  not  in- 
formed we  must  get  all  the  evidence  and  weigh  it 
carefully,  for  we  must  know  our  world  in  order 
to  help  it. 

The  religious  teacher  announces  certain  princi- 
ples laid  down  by  Jesus  which  are  increasingly  dif- 
ficult to  apply  as  life  becomes  more  complicated. 
When  Jesus  said  to  the  four  fishermen,  "Follow 


THE  NEED   OF  A  SOCIAL  GOSPEL  1 7 

me  and  I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men,"  they 
understood.  When  the  challenge  was  given  they 
simply  left  their  boat  and  went  with  Him  to  be- 
come learners  at  His  side.  But  when  Jesus  says  to 
a  lawyer  or  merchant  or  manufacturer,  "Follow 
me,"  it  is  not  so  simple.  What  does  it  mean  to 
follow  Christ  when  one  has  hundreds  of  employees 
dependent  on  him  for  the  means  of  livelihood? 
How  can  one  follow  Christ  in  the  industrial  or 
economic  or  judicial  world?  How  can  a  rich  man 
follow  Him  who  had  not  where  to  lay  His  head? 
That  needs  interpretation. 

The  commandments  of  Jesus  must  be  translated 
into  economic  and  industrial  and  social  terms  for 
men  who  do  not  know  how  to  do  it  for  themselves. 
Most  men  want  to  know  what  their  Christian  duty 
is  and  how  they  may  perform  it.  I  do  not  believe 
there  are  many  like  the  much-quoted  church  mem- 
ber who,  when  asked  how  he  harmonized  certain 
questionable  business  practices  with  his  religious 
principles,  replied  that  he  didn't  try  to,  but  that  he 
made  it  a  study  to  keep  his  religion  and  his  every- 
day behavior  as  far  apart  as  possible.  Most  men 
would  rather  be  Christian  than  not.  They  want  to 
be  consistent,  but  do  not  know  how.  If  the  church 
is  to  survive  with  power,  if  it  is  to  continue  to  be 
the  authoritative  teacher  of  morals  and  religion, 
and  much  more  if  it  is  to  guide  and  dominate  life 
in  this  age,  it  must  find  terms  of  economic  and  in- 
dustrial relationship  in  which  to  express  the  good 
will  of  men  and  in  which  to  impress  its  sanctions. 


l8         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

We  have  come  to  an  industrial  organization  of 
the  world.  Industry  absorbs  the  life  of  the  people. 
If  we  have  nothing  to  say  about  industrial  right  and 
wrong,  we  have  little  to  say  that  matters.  When 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  announced  some  time 
since  that  he  worked  seventeen  hours  a  day  and  had 
no  time  left  to  form  an  opinion  as  to  the  solution 
of  the  problem  of  the  unemployed,  Mr.  Keir  Hardie 
replied  that  "a  religion  which  demands  seventeen 
hours  a  day  for  organization,  and  leaves  no  time 
for  a  single  thought  about  starving  and  despairing 
men  and  women  and  children,  has  no  message  for 
this  age." 

It  would  be  very  simple  to  sum  up  the  task  of 
the  church  in  one  sentence  and  say  that  it  will  best 
deal  with  modern  social  conditions  by  making  good 
men.  Of  course  good  men  is  all  we  need,  and  the 
church  does  produce  good  men,  but  the  good  men 
of  the  church  are  at  a  loss  to  know  how  to  follow 
Christian  principles  and  ideals  under  the  present 
social  organization.  As  Professor  Taylor  says,^ 
the  fact  seems  to  be  that  "the  industrial  world  has 
outgrown  our  moral  sense."  So  sudden  and  over- 
whelming has  been  the  absorption  of  life  by  in- 
dustry that  we  have  no  code  of  morals  to  apply  to 
the  changed  situation.  Once  the  relation  between 
employer  and  employee  was  personal,  and  personal 
ethics  sufficed.  But  with  the  growth  of  the  fac- 
tory and  corporation  and  trust,  moral  problems  be- 
came for  the  most  part  impersonal,  and  the  major- 
*  Merrick  Lectures,  1907-8,  p.  103. 


THE   NEED  OF  A  SOCIAL  GOSPEL  1 9 

ity  of  men  are  hopelessly  at  sea.  And  now  the 
sanctions  of  religion  must  be  translated  into  indus- 
trial and  economic  terms. 

This  challenge  of  industry  must  be  taken  up 
without  fear  or  favor,  but  we  shall  need  time  and 
study  to  prepare  ourselves  to  pass  judgment  here. 
In  the  words  of  Professor  Peabody,  "neither  ethi- 
cal passion  nor  rhetorical  genius  equips  a  preacher 
for  economic  judgments."  There  is  danger  in  im- 
mature and  unintelligent  pronouncements.  Every 
now  and  again  we  younger  men  tilt  against  some 
social  evil  of  which  we  know  little,  and  only  break 
our  lances.  Luckily  we  are  young  and  easily  for- 
given, but  we  have  to  deal  with  ignorance  and 
prejudice,  and  must  mix  the  harmlessness  of  the 
dove  with  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent.  Men  have 
been  accustomed  to  our  present  industrial  and  so- 
cial order  so  long  that  they  do  not  see  how  it  can 
be  changed.  They  are  surprisingly  ignorant  of 
terms  and  movements  outside  of  business.  And 
we  all  need  to  be  kind,  patient,  non-partisan  and 
dispassionate. 

But  we  must  have  a  message  for  an  industrial 
age,  or  cease  to  be  moral  leaders.  Some  are  afraid 
that  in  trying  to  interpret  the  rights  and  needs  of 
those  who  toil,  and  to  show  the  interest  of  the 
church  in  child  labor  and  hours  of  employment  for 
women,  and  similar  social  problems,  the  church  may 
regain  those  whom  it  has  lost  but  lose  those  it  now 
has.  The  captains  of  industry  will  leave  the  church, 
they  say,  if  the  church  seems  to  befriend  the  pri- 


20        THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

vates  in  the  ranks  of  industry.  I  do  not  believe  it ! 
For  many  captains  of  industry  are  Christian  men, 
honest  and  fair-minded,  and  they  want  to  have  in- 
terpreted to  them  how  the  law  of  Christ  applies  to 
their  life  and  work.  They  are  in  doubt  as  to  their 
duty,  they  are  troubled  because  there  is  now  much 
that  they  want  to  do  but  cannot,  and  they  will  accept 
with  gratitude  any  consensus  of  opinion  which  will 
set  new  standards  that  will  permit  them  to  follow 
their  own  hearts  and  their  feeling  of  brotherliness. 
And  those  who  are  unwilling  to  apply  the  standards 
of  Jesus  the  church  is  better  without. 

The  present  business  system  is  not  charge- 
able to  the  kings  of  finance  alone,  though  they 
are  the  main  offenders.  The  sins  of  corpora- 
tions are  shared  by  the  lieutenants  and  sub- 
officials  employed  by  the  board  of  directors 
who  usually  suggest  the  sharp  dealings  and  dis- 
honest methods,  and  then  execute  them;  but  their 
ingenuity  is  put  to  such  uses  to  satisfy  the  great 
organizers  of  business,  who  in  turn  give  their  con- 
sent the  more  readily  because  they  themselves  do  not 
actually   do   the   wrong.^      In   addition   there   are 

*For  example,  the  sugar  trade  was  controlled  by  the 
Havemeyers.  The  Government  detected  them  in  using 
short  scales  in  weighing  for  customs  duty,  during  a  long 
period  of  years.  For  the  crime  some  of  the  head  officials 
were  sent  to  jail  and  the  sugar  trust  was  required  to  re- 
fund to  the  Government  one  million  dollars  for  unpaid 
duties.  Mr.  Havemeyer  escaped  because  of  his  age  and 
because  it  was  not  proved  that  he  was  directly  in  touch 
with  the  fraud.     It  is,  however,  not  thinkable  that  those 


THE   NEED  OF  A  SOCIAL  GOSPEL  21 

hosts  of  small  investors,  who  are  incapable  of  per- 
sonal wrong-doing,  but  who  are  all  the  while  scout- 
ing for  investments  that  pay  a  dividend  which  hon- 
orable business  is  not  able  to  return.  It  is  the  size 
of  the  dividends  and  their  safety  which  are  inquired 
into  by  the  average  investor  and  not  the  methods 
practiced  in  order  to  realize  them.  Small  investors 
seek  investments  which  show  a  high  rate  of  inter- 
est, while  many  large  investors  naturally  are  content 
with  less.  The  clamor  of  promoters  and  investors 
for  large  dividends  and  the  demand  of  the  purchaser 
for  cheapness,  these  two  coupled  with  unreasonable 
competition  are  responsible  in  great  part  for  the 
injustices  of  industry. 

Hence,  all  along  the  line,  people  need  to  be  shown, 
and  I  believe  are  ready  to  be  shown.  The  atmos- 
phere is  charged  with  good  will.  Men  everywhere 
believe  in  the  square  deal,  and  the  question  on  which 
they  differ  is  as  to  what  constitutes  a  square  deal. 
Employers  want  those  who  help  them  to  have  their 
fair  share  of  the  products  of  labor,  and  employees 
do  not  grudge  the  larger  share  which  goes  to  the 
man  who  supplies  the  capital.  This  good  will  must 
be  precipitated  and  organized.  And  who  shall  do  it 
if  not  the  Christian  minister?  We  must  do  it,  we 
must  apply  the  teachings  of  the  Master  to  the  com- 
plex social  and  economic  life  of  to-day  or  be  with- 

who  received  most  of  the  benefit  of  the  fraudulent  entries 
could  be  ignorant  of  the  dishonest  practice.  In  the  public 
mind  the  Havemeyer  family  were  dishonored  and  the 
scandal  hastened  the  death  of  the  head  of  the  house. 


22         THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

out  a  message  for  the  age.  We  must  form  a  new 
code  of  morals  which  will  guide  a  man  in  his  direc- 
tors' meeting  as  well  as  in  his  home,  in  his  relation 
to  his  competitors  and  employees  as  well  as  to  his 
friends  and  neighbors,  at  the  bargain  counters  as 
well  as  at  the  tea-table.^ 

We  are  ministers  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  and  the 
task  to  which  we  are  called  to-day  is  the  establish- 
ment of  industrial  peace  and  economic  righteousness 
in  order  to  make  way  for  that  social  order  which 
we  know  as  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  I  would  not 
have  the  church  turn  its  building  into  a  lodging- 
house,  its  classrooms  into  soup-kitchens,  its  meet- 
ings for  prayer  into  a  labor  lyceum.  I  would  not 
have  it  embark  on  new  social  enterprises  in  order  to 

*  The  apparent  collapse  of  Christianity  in  Europe  is  a 
failure  only  of  the  teachers  of  Christianity.  This  un- 
speakable war  which  puts  civilization  to  shame  was  pos- 
sible partly  because  of  too  much  pulpit  generalizing  in 
Europe  as  in  America.  Those  who  constitute  public  opin- 
ion may  be  reached  through  the  church,  but  the  people 
were  unprepared  for  this  sudden  crisis  because  they  had 
not  been  trained  by  their  spiritual  leaders  to  hate  war,  or 
taught  that  nations  are  amenable  to  the  same  Christian 
ethics  as  individuals,  or  made  to  see  clearly  that  it  is  no 
more  right  for  nations  to  tear  and  kill  one  another  than 
it  is  for  neighbors  to  settle  their  disputes  with  clubs  or 
fists  in  the  backyard.  Might  does  not  make  right  among 
kings  any  more  than  among  stevedores.  Like  Amos  we 
must  point  out  the  universal  quality  of  righteousness.  In 
so  far  as  they  apply  at  all,  the  same  ethical  standards 
apply  to  states  as  to  next-door  neighbors,  to  politics  and 
to  business  as  to  the  family  and  the  church.  And  the 
religious   teacher   must   show   definitely   how    they   apply. 


THE   NEED   OF   A   SOCIAL   GOSPEL  23 

meet  the  sneer  of  some  youthful  worker  or  over- 
come the  suspicion  of  the  labor  unionist.  I  would 
not  have  it  pin  its  faith  to  social  settlements  and  the 
conventional  forms  of  social  service ;  these  are  only- 
palliative  and,  valuable  as  they  are,  do  not  go  to  the 
root  of  the  matter.  It  is  good  to  supply  playgrounds 
for  the  children,  and  tenement  houses  with  light  and 
air  and  baths,  but  the  church  must  give  them  more 
than  this.  The  mission  of  Christianity  is  to  furnish 
for  rich  and  poor  alike  a  solution  to  the  riddle  of 
existence,  to  kindle  self-respect  and  hope  and  faith 
and  love  in  the  breast,  and  to  get  the  inspiration  of  a 
real  life  purpose  into  lives  of  drudgery  and  lives  that 
are  empty. 

I  would  have  the  minister  of  Christ  call  men's 
attention  away  from  the  question  of  rights  to  that 
of  duties,  as  Mazzini  did.  I  would  have  him  make 
plain  what  Christ's  Golden  Rule  means  as  it  applies 
to  employer  and  employed,  to  landlord  and  tenant, 
to  seller  and  buyer,  to  mistress  and  servant,  to  pro- 
moters and  investors,  and  to  all  humans  at  the  points 
where  their  life  touches  another's.  I  would  have 
him  teach  a  new  kind  of  competition,  a  competition 
in  doing  right  and  in  community  service.  I  would 
have  him  make  clear  that  the  merchant  or  manu- 
facturer or  lawyer  or  artisan  is  called  to  his  business 
as  the  preacher  to  his  ministering;  and  that  Christ 
summons  the  business  man  as  well  as  the  apostles 
to  follow  Him  and  become  "fishers  of  men,"  work- 
ers in  human  values  and  not  in  dead,  inert,  material 
things.    To  be  a  worker  with  men  rather  than  things 


24         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

makes  life  romantic  and  redeems  it  from  monotony. 

The  Christian  conscience  is  staggered  by  how 
much  it  means  to  be  a  Christian.  There  is  some- 
thing wistful  in  the  way  men  and  women  are  seeking 
to  know  the  truth  as  to  their  duty  to  one  another. 
Christian  brotherhood  has  immense  implications, 
and  Christian  love  makes  a  limitless  demand  on  the 
soul.  Human  values  have  emerged  from  the  world 
of  industry  and  now  stand  first  and  foremost.  Men 
know  how  to  deal  with  physical  values  and  mechan- 
ical values  and  economic  values,  but  not  with  hu- 
man values.  And  the  specialist  in  morality  must 
teach  them. 

How  to  live  together  is  the  problem  of  society 
stated  in  its  simplest  terms.  We  have  not  yet 
worked  it  out.  We  have  not  yet  invented  social 
machinery  by  means  of  which  employer  and  em- 
ployed, rich  and  poor,  may  side  by  side  realize  the 
best  that  is  in  them.  What  do  love  and  brother- 
hood mean  in  actual  life?  The  answer  to  that 
question  is  the  tidings  for  which  men  are  waiting. 
This  is  the  Social  Gospel.  Woe  is  unto  us  if  we 
learn  not  how  to  preach  it ! 


CHAPTER   II 

THE    SPIRITUAL    POSSIBILITIES    OF    BUSINESS     LIFE 

Since  the  American  Civil  War  men  have  given 
themselves  to  the  business  of  wealth  production  to 
repair  the  waste  of  that  cruel  strife.  The  indus- 
trial expansion  of  the  country  during  these  years 
is  without  parallel,  partly  because  the  patriotic  im- 
pulse found  an  expression  in  the  development  of 
our  national  resources,  but  more  because  the  prizes 
of  business  have  attracted  the  best  brains  of  the 
nation.  In  less  degree  this  is  true  of  other  nations 
and  the  industrial  organization  of  the  world  is  a 
fact  which  is  powerfully  influencing  our  civiliza- 
tion. Warfare  between  nations  is  a  war  of  trade. 
The  diplomatists  have  for  their  main  duty  the  fos- 
tering of  commerce  and  trade.  Industry  has  be- 
come the  popular  arena  for  individual  achievement 
as  well  as  national  advancement.  Literature,  art, 
oratory,  the  ministry,  law,  medicine  and  even  poli- 
tics are  fields  for  but  a  tame  sort  of  rivalry  in  com- 
parison with  business.  The  world  of  industry  ab- 
sorbs a  vast  majority  of  humans  either  in  the  strug- 
gle for  a  livelihood  or  as  a  field  of  conquest.  Here 
the  strife  grows  keener  when  elsewhere  men  have 
ceased  from  strife.    Morals  are  here  under  heav- 

25 


26         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

iest  strain,  and  here  religion  is  needed  to  guide  and 
to  control. 

What  is  the  significance  for  religion  of  this  new 
world  order?  What  effect  upon  the  nation's  spir- 
itual development  does  this  immense  industrial  ex- 
pansion mean?  Do  the  occupations  to  which  most 
men  give  most  of  their  waking  hours  furnish  a 
fair  chance  for  the  expression  of  the  Christian 
ideal?  Is  the  church  to  be  thwarted  in  its  task  by 
the  modern  organization  of  business,  or  does  busi- 
ness offer  an  opportunity  for  real  Christian  ser- 
vice? 

To  begin  with,  the  state  of  religion  is  much 
more  healthy  and  robust  than  appears  from  the 
reports  of  church  statisticians.  Charts  and  graphs 
seem  to  indicate  that  it  is  passing  through  a  period 
of  invalidism,  but  most  examinations  have  pro- 
ceeded on  the  ground  that  religion  is  a  public  mat- 
ter. The  thermometer  used  with  the  patient  has 
been  church  attendance;  so  many  people  in  church 
on  any  given  occasion,  so  much  religion. 

Now  this  more  spectacular  side  of  religion  is  of 
the  utmost  value,  because  religion  is  a  social  mat- 
ter and  requires  some  social  organization  for  its 
culture,  and  because  human  nature  demands  some 
outward  expression  of  its  inward  feeling.  But 
there  are  other  expressions  of  one's  religious  feel- 
ing than  church  attendance.  The  fact  that  a  man 
does  not  go  to  church  does  not  mean  necessarily 
that  he  is  unreligious,  but  may  indicate  that  he  does 
not  understand  the  church,  or  that  he  has  found 


SPIRITUAL   POSSIBILITIES   OF   BUSINESS   LIFE        2/ 

that  it  does  not  meet  his  needs  in  the  cultivation  or 
the  exercise  of  religion.  The  spirit  of  religion  has 
grown  far  beyond  the  churches.  There  is  a  tre- 
mendous amount  of  "anonymous  religion"  in  the 
world  to-day. 

What  is  religion?  For  most  men  it  is  only  a 
feeling;  it  is  not  a  conviction  or  a  reasoned  faith, 
but  a  feeling.  And  it  is  the  feeling  that  what  is 
seen  is  not  all  there  is.  The  religious  man  is  the 
man  who  reckons  into  life  something  other  than 
the  things  that  are  seen.  He  who  does  his  work  on 
principle,  who  lives  with  ideals,  is  religious.  An 
old  Greek  sculptor,  when  asked  why  he  finished  the 
back  of  a  statue  which  was  to  be  against  a  build- 
ing, and  so  invisible,  as  perfectly  as  its  front,  said, 
"I  am  working  for  the  gods."  Now  any  man  who 
does  his  work,  or  lives  his  life,  "for  the  gods"  is 
religious.  In  so  far  as  he  does  a  thing  for  the  gods, 
not  for  pay,  not  for  profit,  not  because  his  work 
will  be  seen  and  be  lauded  of  men,  not  for  reputa- 
tion, not  to  win  out  against  other  men,  but  for  prin- 
ciple, for  an  ideal — he  is  religious.  The  religious 
man  is  the  man  who  realizes  that  he  is  in  the  pres- 
ence of  an  Invisible  and  that  his  life  somehow  re- 
lates itself  to  the  Invisible.  He  feels,  therefore, 
that  it  is  worth  while  to  do  his  best  to-day,  because 
there  is  an  invisible  and  eternal  Being  who  will 
carry  to-day  over  into  to-morrow,  who  will  give 
permanence  and  continuity  to  his  life,  and  so  make 
it  worth  while  to  do  his  best.  There  are  few  men 
in  this  modern  age  who  do  not  believe  that  the 


28         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

great  conserving  forces  of  life  are  to  be  trusted, 
who  do  not  feel  that  what  they  see  is  not  all  there 
is.     Man  is  a  religious  animal. 

In  passing  let  it  be  said  that  the  larger  number 
of  women  in  the  church  must  not  be  taken  to  mean 
that  the  male  sex  is  the  less  religious.  The  differ- 
ent kind  of  life  women  lead,  the  great  task  of  ma- 
ternity, the  frequent  bearing  of  pain,  the  constant 
care  of  little  children,  and  the  responsibility  of 
training  them  into  worthy  manhood  and  woman- 
hood call  out  certain  religious  qualities  in  women 
which  men  may  lack.  But  there  are  religious  quali- 
ties in  which  men  equal  and  even  go  beyond  women. 
Women  possess  in  larger  degree  than  men  the 
softer  sentiments  of  sympathy,  generosity  and  self- 
sacrifice.  They  are  more  conventional  and  hence 
are  more  strongly  appealed  to  by  the  forms  of  re- 
ligion. But  the  elementary  social  virtues  of  hon- 
esty, truthfulness  and  justice  are  maintained  in 
large  measure  by  men.  Just  as  the  life  that  the 
woman  leads  is  responsible  for  her  excellence  in 
certain  moral  qualities,  so  the  life  that  the  man 
leads  is  responsible  for  his  excellence  in  others. 
The  mere  fact  of  sex  is  not  an  adequate  explana- 
tion of  moral  differences,  but  the  different  training 
and  work  and  environment  of  men  and  women. 

Man's  life  is  absorbed  mainly  in  business,  and 
the  idea  that  business  develops  any  moral  or  re- 
ligious qualities  is  contrary  to  the  notion  of  a  great 
many  persons.  A  popular  impression  is  that  the 
business  man  is  more  hard  pressed  to  wrong-doing 


SPIRITUAL  POSSIBILITIES  OF  BUSINESS  LIFE        2g 

than  any  other  man,  that  he  lives  to  lower  moral 
standards  and  that,  because  of  the  peculiar  tempta- 
tions of  his  career,  he  is  more  excusable  than  other 
men.  Some  think  of  the  world  of  business  as  a 
vast  battlefield,  where  men  are  pitted  against  one 
another,  fired  for  the  fight  by  selfishness  and  greed. 
One  has  said,  '*It  is  only  the  densest  ethical  igno- 
rance that  talks  of  a  Christian  business  life,  for 
business  is  now  intrinsically  evil.  .  .  .  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  an  ethical  bargain,  .  .  .  there  are  no 
honest  goods  to  buy  or  sell;  .  .  .  the  hideous  in- 
dustrial war  .  .  .  makes  the  industrial  system  seem 
like  the  triumph  of  hell  and  madness  on  the 
earth."  ^ 

Back  of  this  impression  there  are  two  facts: 
first,  the  recent  revelations  as  to  some  of  our  larg- 
est business  systems,  and  second,  the  practices  of 
many  individuals  in  business.  We  cannot  blink 
these  facts.  The  insurance  scandals,  for  example, 
afiford  a  spectacle  of  groups  of  intelligent,  big  men 
who  had  lost  their  ideals.  A  careful  investigator 
of  contemporary  political  history  ^  says  that  behind 
most  corrupt  legislation  are  the  big  business  inter- 
ests, and  that  the  boss  of  the  bosses  is  the  money 
king.  This  is  unquestionably  true,  and  yet  much 
of  the  dishonesty  in  big  business  has  been  devel- 
oped almost  independently  of  politics.     But  these 

*G.  D.  Herron,  quoted  by  Peabody,  "Jesus  Christ  and 
the  Social  Question,"  p.  316. 

^Lincoln  Steffens,  in  personal  conversation  and  public 
address. 


30         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

big  interests  which  use  corrupt  methods,  do  so  in 
defiance  of  the  accepted  principles  of  business  as 
well  as  in  defiance  of  the  laws  of  the  state  and  of 
humanity.  Couple  with  the  big  interests  the  stock 
manipulators  and  you  have  named  the  main  offend- 
ers in  business  to-day.  These  flagrant  offenders 
have  victimized  the  great  body  of  business  men 
who  are  honestly  serving  the  public  and  are  proof 
against  the  peculiar  temptations  to  which  their 
work  exposes  them. 

An  unusual  amount  of  publicity  has  been  given 
in  recent  years  to  business,  and  is  it  not  probable 
that  the  spirit  which  has  forced  hidden  things 
to  light  and  condemned  them,  evidences  that  we 
are  morally  more  sensitive  and  not  that  we  are 
more  sinful  than  the  preceding  generation?  Mod- 
ern business  is  immensely  complicated  and  in  a 
constant  state  of  change.  The  corporation  is  a 
legal  device  to  permit  the  organization  of  business 
on  a  larger  scale  than  can  be  handled  by  an  indi- 
vidual or  firm.  Before  we  had  quite  comprehended 
what  a  corporation  is,  we  saw  the  invention  of  the 
holding  company  for  the  purpose  of  binding  to- 
gether many  corporations,  and  while  the  holding 
company  was  still  a  mysterious  thing  we  have  seen 
it  broadened  into  the  "trust."  May  not  the  very 
complexity  of  business  and  the  inability  of  the 
average  layman  to  fathom  it,  make  him  unduly  dis- 
trustful? Certain  it  is  that  what  has  been  revealed 
of  the  methods  of  big  business,  added  to  this  in- 
creased moral  sensitiveness  and  vague  distrust,  has 


SPIRITUAL   POSSIBILITIES   OF  BUSINESS   LIFE        3 1 

for  many  cast  suspicion  over  the  business  organiza- 
tion as  a  whole. 

A  proper  estimate  of  the  religious  values  in  busi- 
ness life  depends  upon  a  true  understanding  of 
business  and  of  the  philosophy  underlying  it.  Busi- 
ness began  when  men  first  realized  the  need  of 
something  besides  food;  that  is  clothing,  utensils, 
weapons  and  houses  of  the  simplest  sort.  Since 
the  primitive  man  added  to  the  length  of  his  arm 
by  the  use  of  a  club  and  to  the  strength  of  his 
arm  by  the  use  of  the  lever,  and  discovered  the  use 
of  fire,  civilization  has  been  put  forward  by  the 
manufacture  and  distribution  of  the  things  needed 
for  human  life.  At  first  each  made  what  he  needed 
for  himself,  or  did  without.  But  some  showed  spe- 
cial skill  in  fashioning  utensils  and  weapons,  and 
these  more  cunning  workmen  began  to  manufacture 
for  the  tribe  or  clan  while  others  used  the  utensils  or 
hunted  with  the  weapons.  Thus  began  the  division 
of  labor,  and  thus  grew  up  the  manufacturing  class 
as  distinguished  from  the  consumer.  When  men 
moved  farther  from  the  villages  to  till  the  soil  or 
fish  the  streams  they  got  others  who  were  not  so 
skilled  in  the  use  or  manufacture  of  utensils  to 
bring  them  from  the  village.  Thus  began  the  trader 
and  the  merchant  class.  All  business  is  but  the 
modification  of  these  three  divisions;  the  man  who 
fashions  the  utensils,  and  the  man  who  uses,  and 
the  trader. 

Business  therefore  in  its  inception  rested  upon 
the  discovery  and  supply  of  social  needs.    Business 


32         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

has  remained  that,  and  ever  must.  It  depends  on  a 
social  need  that  can  be  supplied.  Sometimes  the 
public  is  fooled  and  made  to  believe  it  needs  what 
it  doesn't,  and  sometimes  it  is  offered  a  sham  for 
supply,  but  the  most  successful  forms  of  business 
are  **based  on  the  discernment  of  real  needs  and 
the  supplying  of  real  benefits."  ^  Of  course  there 
is  cruelty  and  greed  in  the  motives  and  passions  of 
individual  business  men;  but  the  organization  of  a 
business  as  a  whole  is,  as  Professor  Peabody  says, 
*'a  vast  and  complex  movement  of  social  service." 

Many  men  engaged  in  business  are  unconscious 
of  rendering  any  social  service,  and  it  is  true  that 
some  are  doing  their  utmost  to  extract  from  the 
community  all  the  traffic  will  bear.  Perhaps  most 
men  would  say  that  they  are  in  business  for  the 
money  and  not  for  the  purpose  of  performing  so- 
cial service;  and  yet  the  laws  of  business  are  such 
that  a  man  must  render  service  to  the  community 
or  the  community  will  have  none  of  him.  It  is 
"good  business"  to  be  honest,  and  to  play  fair,  and 
to  make  or  sell  a  real  commodity  and  at  least  to 
lead  the  people  to  believe  that  one  is  in  business  to 
serve  them.  If  one's  needs  are  only  selfish  and  he 
is  thinking  only  of  how  much  more  he  can  get  out 
of  the  community  than  he  puts  back,  the  people 
will  soon  find  it  out. 

Even  through  competition  a  moral  end  is 
reached  which  many  do  not  suspect.  Of  course 
there  is  cruel  and  bloody  competition,  but  that  is 

*  Peabody,  op.  cit.,  p.  318. 


SPIRITUAL  POSSIBILITIES   OF  BUSINESS  LIFE        33 

mainly  on  the  part  of  the  big  interests  which  are 
really  out  of  the  reach  of  competition  and  are  not 
responsive  to  the  ordinary  principles  of  competi- 
tion ;  and  on  the  part  of  certain  individual  business 
men  who,  not  having  brains  to  succeed,  resort  to 
sharp  practice.  These  latter  sooner  or  later  go  to 
the  wall,  and  they  make  up  a  large  percentage  of 
the  failures  in  business.  For  when  competition 
must  be  considered,  the  underlying  principle  of  any 
successful  business  is  the  power  to  inspire  confi- 
dence that  just  value  is  given  for  value  received. 
And  there  can  be  no  establishment  of  confidence 
aside  from  the  spirit  of  the  Golden  Rule.  If  a 
business  does  not  serve  some  social  need  it  is  un- 
economic and  useless  and  will  soon  be  cast  aside. 

There  has  been  much  confusion  on  this  whole 
matter  of  competition,  and  naturally,  because  of 
the  jangling  voices  one  hears  which  pretend  to 
speak  with  authority.  Competition  had  become  so 
gruelling  that  the  trust  was  formed  in  order  to 
restrain  it.  The  trust  is  the  business  man's  own 
method  of  checking  the  cruelty  of  competition. 
Competition  of  the  killing  sort  ceased  between 
members  of  the  trust,  but  by  thus  combining  these 
men  were  able  the  more  easily  to  crush  out  smaller 
competitors.  The  trust  became  so  powerful  and  so 
greedy  that  laws  had  to  be  made  to  restrain  the 
trust,  and  court  proceedings  were  instituted  to  de- 
stroy it.  Then  the  men  of  these  great  combina- 
tions chorused  in  pious  tones  that  they  were  being 
driven  back  to  the  cut- throat  competition  of  the 


34         THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF  THE   CHURCH 

jungle.    No  wonder  the  layman  has  been  confused. 

Under  adequate  governmental  regulation,  com- 
petition not  only  stimulates  individual  effort  but 
clears  itself  of  abuses.  Of  course  in  the  desire  to 
get  rich  quick  many  men  who  cannot  excel  their 
competitors  in  efficiency  will  seek  to  do  so  by 
cheapening  the  product  or  forcing  down  the  wage. 
True,  this  succeeds  only  temporarily,  but  in  the 
interim  before  this  sort  of  competition  goes  to  the 
wall  the  public  have  suffered  by  the  use  of  shoddy, 
and  the  wage-earner  has  not  gotten  a  fair  return 
for  his  toil.  Unfair  competition  is  very  slow  in 
correcting  itself,  and  although  every  decade  dis- 
honest business  men  are  eliminated  the  next  decade 
offers  another  crop  who  are  just  as  indifferent  to 
the  true  principles  of  competition  and  to  human 
welfare,  and  the  same  waste  and  suffering  go  on. 

Even  for  successful  and  permanent  business, 
competition  only  fixes  the  limits  within  which  men 
may  operate.  The  maximum  wage  is  set  for  them, 
and  where  labor  is  scarce  the  minimum  wage.  The 
maximum  and  minimum  price  of  raw  materials  is 
set,  and  the  price  above  which  the  product  cannot 
and  below  which  it  may  not  be  sold.  But  a  consid- 
erable margin  remains  for  manipulation.  By  tak- 
ing advantage  of  fluctuations  in  the  labor  market 
one  competitor  may  unduly  inflate  his  profits,  by 
private  bargains  and  rebates  he  may  diminish  the 
price  of  his  raw  material  and  his  shipping  expenses, 
and  by  clever  advertising  he  may  sell  an  inferior 
article.     So  that  governmental  regulation  is  neces- 


SPIRITUAL   POSSIBILITIES   OF   BUSINESS   LIFE        35 

sary  to  restrain  competition  and  to  safeguard  the 
public. 

Where  private  initiative  is  not  a  factor  to  be 
considered  competition  should  be  eliminated  alto- 
gether. In  the  opinion  of  the  writer  it  will  be 
easier  for  the  social  order  to  be  Christian  when  all 
the  necessary  forms  of  public  service  have  been  so- 
cialized. The  whole  drift  of  to-day  is  toward  the 
socializing  of  life.  Those  forms  of  public  service 
which  are  not  profitable,  such  as  the  streets,  the 
schools,  the  parks  and  the  courts,  are  now  owned 
and  maintained  by  the  community.  Indications  are 
strong  that  the  profit-earning  forms  of  public  ser- 
vice, such  as  electricity  and  gas,  the  telephone,  the 
telegraph,  the  street  railways,  the  express  service 
and  the  railroads,  will  be  socialized  too.  Here  we 
may  safely  stop,  at  least  for  a  time.  Competition 
in  other  forms  of  industry,  if  properly  regulated  by 
law,  not  only  is  not  hostile  to  public  morals  but 
may  serve  as  a  stimulus.  Competition  allowed, 
combination  allowed,  and  both  regulated,  seems  to 
oflfer  the  most  favorable  conditions  for  a  Christian 
social  order. 

There  are  certain  ethical  qualities  which  are  nec- 
essary in  the  business  world;  certain  social  vir- 
tues are  maintained  which  otherwise  were  in  dan- 
ger of  growing  weak  in  our  easy  and  comfortable 
modern  life.  The  more  elaborate  business  be- 
comes, the  more  dependent  it  is  upon  these  moral 
qualities.  Business  to-day  is  done  not  with  cash 
but  with  credit,  and  credit  is  reputation.     Immense 


36         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

transactions  are  put  through  without  the  exchange 
of  a  penny.  Deals  are  made  and  purchases  ef- 
fected by  men  on  opposite  sides  of  the  globe  on 
the  basis  of  the  integrity  of  both  parties.  The  very 
existence  of  modern  business  rests  upon  reputa- 
tion, and  reputation  is  the  shadow  of  character.  It 
is  essential  that  the  business  man  have  a  reputa- 
tion for  honesty  and  that  he  safeguard  his  credit. 
Col.  Charteris  once  said  to  a  friend,  "I'd  give  fifty 
thousand  pounds  for  your  good  name!"  "Why 
so?"  asked  the  other.  "Because  I  should  make  a 
hundred  thousand  out  of  it,"  was  the  reply. 

On  the  side  of  production,  human  skill  has  been 
displaced  by  machine  skill,  and  that  is  regrettable; 
but  a  more  moral  quality  than  skill  remains,  faithful- 
ness. The  man  who  runs  a  machine  in  the  modern 
factory  loses  skill,  for  the  machine  does  the  thinking 
for  him,  but  he  must  be  faithful.  Otherwise  he 
will  smash  the  machine  and  spoil  his  product.  In- 
dustry to-day  depends  not  on  the  cleverness  of  the 
individual,  but  on  honesty  and  faithfulness.  One 
careless  man,  one  dishonest  piece  of  workmanship 
in  one  out  of  a  hundred  workmen  will  throw  a 
product  into  the  "seconds." 

It  is  better  capital  for  the  manufacturer  and  the 
merchant,  the  mechanic  and  the  operative,  to  be 
moral  than  to  be  clever.  One  asks  of  a  merchant 
with  whom  he  wishes  to  do  business,  not  "How 
large  a  fortune  has  he  succeeded  in  making?"  but 
"Is  he  honest  ?"  The  question  asked  when  a  work- 
man is  employed  is  not,  "Is  he  shrewd  and  cun- 


SPIRITUAL  POSSIBILITIES   OF  BUSINESS  LIFE        37 

ning?"  but,  "Is  he  honest  and  sober?"  The  im- 
plication is  inescapable:  moral  qualities  have  be- 
come elementary  and  essential  in  modern  business. 

Business  has  its  mean  and  contemptible  side,  of 
course,  and  there  are  some  evils  that  are  peculiar 
to  business  pursuits.  How  to  escape  the  perils  of 
business  will  be  discussed  in  the  fourth  chapter, 
but  here  I  will  name  some  of  them  and  try  to  indi- 
cate their  nature  and  extent.  Nothing  is  gained  by 
minimizing  them  or  by  magnifying  them,  but  let 
us  take  the  main  facts  into  account  in  order  to  esti- 
mate the  spiritual  possibilities  of  business  life. 

The  evil  which  stands  out  most  conspicuously  in 
the  business  world  is  misrepresentation.  Its  most 
insidious  form  is  the  way  in  which  investors  are 
frequently  induced  to  surrender  their  wealth  for 
the  building  up  of  a  new  corporation.  Many  rail- 
roads and  industrial  enterprises  are  promoted  and 
capitalized  in  a  conservative  and  honest  fashion, 
but  in  a  large  number  of  cases  the  prospectus  which 
is  offered  as  bait  for  the  investor  has  been  mislead- 
ing and  even  fraudulent.  Certain  facts  are  con- 
cealed and  others  are  shown  in  a  too  favorable 
light.  In  some  instances  where  the  prospectus  rep- 
resents the  honest  expectations  of  the  promoter,  he 
nevertheless  deliberately  withholds  certain  facts 
which  would  lead  a  cautious  investor  to  form  less 
confident  expectations  than  he  himself  has  reached. 
The  great  sin  of  modern  business  is  dishonesty; 
dishonesty  in  the  organization  of  business,  dishon- 
esty in  the  keeping  of  books  to  show  larger  assets 


38         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

and  greater  prosperity  than  actually  exist,  and  dis- 
honesty in  bank  statements  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
taining larger  credit  or  bigger  loans.  But  it  must 
be  kept  in  mind  that  in  successful  business  there  is 
little  occasion,  and  hence  little  temptation,  to  prac- 
tice such  dishonesties.  Also  new  moral  standards 
are  rapidly  being  set  up  and  boards  of  directors 
are  being  held  responsible  by  the  courts  for  any 
misrepresentations  in  the  prospectus,  and  thus  the 
business  man  is  under  less  pressure  to  wrongdoing 
in  these  directions  than  formerly. 

Apart  from  the  promoter  there  is  not  so  much 
misrepresentation  in  business  as  is  ordinarily  be- 
lieved. The  great  bulk  of  business  to-day  is  be- 
tween parties  who  know  what  they  want,  so  that 
there  is  little  room  for  deception  or  lying.  Only 
the  retailer  deals  with  men  and  women  who  are  not 
experts  and  who  know  little  about  the  quality  of 
the  goods  that  are  offered.  The  retailer  is  under 
constant  temptation  to  misrepresent  his  goods.  His 
most  common  sin  is  fictitious  advertising.  A  mer- 
chant's main  desire  is  to  move  his  goods,  not  to 
educate  the  taste  of  the  public,^  but  to  dispose  of 
the  goods  which  he  has  on  hand.  In  order  to  move 
the  goods  he  is  under  a  steady  temptation  to  mis- 

*The  best  index  of  the  taste  of  a  community  is  the 
store  window.  The  merchant  displays  in  this  most  public 
way  what  in  his  experience  will  appeal  to  the  taste  of  the 
buying  public.  The  store  window  offers  a  better  oppor- 
tunity for  elevating  the  taste  of  the  public  along  certain 
lines  than  an  art  gallery  and  library  combined.  Merchants 
are  beginning  to  make  use  of  it  for  this  purpose. 


SPIRITUAL   POSSIBILITIES   OF   BUSINESS   LIFE        39 

represent  through  his  advertisements  and  his  sales- 
men, for  the  customer  is  gullible  and  an  unintelli- 
gent buyer. 

On  the  part  of  the  manufacturer  or  jobber  there 
is  little  chance  of  misrepresentation  as  he  deals 
with  expert  buyers.  Also  the  manufacturer  is 
changing  his  policy  of  selling  as  much  goods  as 
possible,  regardless  of  the  distributer's  ability  to 
dispose  of  them.  He  no  longer  loads  up  the  mer- 
chant with  more  goods  than  he  can  handle,  which 
formerly  provided  the  temptation  to  fictitious  ad- 
vertising, bargain  sales,  "fire  sales,"  and  such  like.^ 
The  manufacturer  or  jobber  tries  to  show  himself 
the  friend  of  the  retailer  and  helps  him  to  supply 
the  demand  of  his  local  trade.  And  the  retailer  is 
realizing  that  he  must  be  the  friend  of  the  con- 
sumer and  not  deceive  him.  There  are  many  mer- 
chants who  scorn  to  juggle  with  price  marks  and  to 
gull  the  purchaser  with  lying  advertisements.  "Ad. 
men"  in  their  local  and  national  organizations  have 
taken  steps  to  eliminate  all  fraudulent  advertising. 
It  is  generally  accepted  that  it  is  to  the  distributer's 
advantage  to  sell  to  the  public  just  what  is  needed 
and  the  kind  of  commodity  which  will  give  perma- 

*  Many  examples  showing  this  new  policy  might  be 
cited.  For  illustration,  a  well-known  firm  making  pickles 
and  preserves  trains  its  salesmen  to  study  each  local  mar- 
ket in  order  to  sell  the  merchant  only  those  goods  for 
which  there  is  a  demand  in  the  locality  or  for  which  a 
demand  can  be  created,  and  to  take  back  at  original  prices 
all  goods  that  have  stood  a  long  time  on  the  shelves 
unsold. 


40        THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

nent  satisfaction.  Present  tendencies  indicate  that 
the  evil  of  misrepresentation  will  soon  be  practi- 
cally eliminated  from  all  reputable  business. 

A  second  evil  of  business  is  the  abuse  of  power. 
Men  at  the  head  of  great  corporations  have  as 
much  power  as  the  old  baron  or  earl  with  armed 
retainers  at  his  back.  This  power  has  been  abused, 
for  some  men  are  self-seeking,  ambitious  and  cruel. 
But  all  manner  of  checks  have  been  put  upon  abuse 
of  power;  business  itself  has  made  rules  for  its  own 
protection,  the  state  has  made  laws  to  protect  the 
small  competitor  and  the  common  man,  workmen 
have  organized  for  collective  action,  and,  more  po- 
tent than  all,  public  opinion  has  changed  so  that  no 
modern  man  will  dare  to  say,  "I  shall  do  what  I 
please  with  my  business."  All  forms  of  business 
are  being  regarded  as  public  service  and  the  feeling 
is  growing  that  in  many  industrial  enterprises  the 
worker  and  the  general  public  must  be  taken  into 
account.  The  signs  are  many  and  strong  that  we 
are  moving  toward  the  time  when  all  business  will 
be  under  government  supervision  and  restraint,  as 
well  as  under  the  control  of  the  social  conscience, 
as  is  now  the  case  with  specifically  public  service 
corporations.  The  industrial  world  is  no  longer 
looked  upon  by  the  men  who  really  belong  to  this 
age  as  a  field  for  legitimate  piracy.  The  whole  ten- 
dency is  to  make  business  more  rather  than  less  a 
form  of  community  service. 

A  common  peril  of  business  is  preoccupation. 
The  business  man  gets  absorbed  in  the  game.    He 


SPIRITUAL  POSSIBILITIES   OF  BUSINESS  LIFE        4I 

wants  to  succeed,  will  give  everything  to  win.  Once 
this  absorption  in  the  game  led  him  to  neglect  his 
body.  During  the  generation  after  the  Civil  War 
men  forgot  they  had  bodies  and  nervous  break- 
down was  common.  Now  this  is  changed,  but  busi- 
ness men  are  still  tempted  to  neglect  the  mind  and 
the  spirit.  Like  the  men  in  the  parable  Jesus  tells, 
they  may  be  engaged  in  very  commendable  enter- 
prises— the  care  of  their  farm,  of  their  cattle,  and 
of  their  families,  which  is  every  man's  duty — ^but 
they  let  what  is  good  separate  them  from  what  is 
best.  Our  most  frequent  vice  is  the  immorality  of 
the  second-best. 

This,  however,  is  not  peculiar  to  business.  All 
of  us  feel  the  whip  and  spur  of  modern  life.  All 
feel  that  it  is  incumbent  upon  us  to  do  more  work 
and  better  work  every  year.  The  demand  of  the 
world  is  "Not  you,  but  yours";  not  what  we  are, 
but  what  we  can  produce,  is  the  main  concern  of 
to-day.  Nothing  is  so  popular  or  so  exacting  as 
work.  And,  if  we  respond  to  the  goad  of  modem 
life,  we  may  win  for  ourselves  the  reputation  of 
a  worker,  but  starve  and  neglect  our  souls.  Putting 
our  life-work  before  our  life  we  will  after  a  while 
have  externalized  ourselves,  and  will  say  with 
Amiel,  "What  is  it  which  has  always  come  between 
real  life  and  me?  What  glass  screen  has,  as  it 
were,  interposed  itself  between  me  and  the  posses- 
sion, the  enjoyment,  the  contact  of  things,  leaving 
me  only  the  role  of  the  looker-on?"  The  tragedy 
of  many  a  modern  man  is  that  he  is  only  a  specta- 


42         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF   THE   CHURCH 

tor  of  his  own  life,  and  life  for  him  is  unreal  and 
unsatisfying. 

Now  religion  is  the  quest  for  reality;  it  looks  to 
God  as  the  ultimate  reality.  Real  living  is  religious. 
God's  great  purpose  in  history  has  been  to  show 
man  what  is  real  and  satisfying,  to  teach  him  how 
to  live  a  full  and  abundant  life.  The  men  of  to-day 
are  after  the  real  thing,  and  to  that  extent  they  are 
religious,  even  though  they  are  often  mistaken  as 
to  what  is  reality.  The  pursuit  of  money,  which 
seems  to  have  absorbed  so  many,  is  in  part  because 
men  thought  that  money  could  buy  the  things  which 
go  to  make  up  real  living.  Men  have  said,  '*Go  to, 
I  will  get  me  gold  and  will  fill  my  barns ;  when  they 
are  full  I  will  build  me  greater  barns  and  fill  them. 
When  I  have  gotten  enough  I'll  stop  work  and 
really  live."  It  is  life  that  men  are  after,  real  life. 
All  that  they  want  is  really  to  live.  Even  the  drunk- 
ard is  seeking  life,  a  fuller  and  gladder  life  than 
he  knows,  and  he  drinks  because  that  seems  a  short 
cut  to  it.  But  to-day  many  men  are  discovering 
that  they  are  not  really  living.  They  see  that  the 
thing  which  they  have  been  pursuing  is  not  really 
life,  and  that  in  the  pursuing  of  it  they  are  losing 
life.  So  that  there  never  was  a  time  when  men 
were  turning  more  wistfully  to  religion,  because 
they  feel  that  they  have  missed  real  life. 

The  absorption  of  business  is  full  of  peril  for 
religion,  but  it  is  being  met  in  many  instances  by 
men  making  their  business  an  art.  The  idealistic 
side  of  their  nature  is  finding  expression  in  the  fac- 


SPIRITUAL  POSSIBILITIES   OF  BUSINESS   LIFE        43 

tories  they  are  erecting,  surrounded  by  beautiful 
grounds  and  equipped  with  conveniences  and  com- 
forts for  all  who  work  for  them;  in  the  quality  of 
the  product  they  are  turning  out ;  and  most  of  all  in 
new  ways  of  treating  the  human  beings  in  their 
employ.  Slowly  but  surely  a  new  idealism  is  grow- 
ing up  in  business  as  in  all  modern  life.  And  side 
by  side  with  the  demand  for  the  expression  through 
business  of  a  man's  artistic  and  idealistic  nature 
stands  the  scientific  demand  for  perfection,  which 
also  in  some  measure  matches  the  religious  demand 
for  reality.  In  modern  productive  industry  this 
demand  for  perfection  is  a  controlling  force.  No 
less  a  standard  than  perfection  has  been  set  up  by 
many  manufacturers,  and  quality  is  the  end  that  is 
sought.  In  many  cases  this  demand  for  perfection 
is  not  utilitarian  but  idealistic.  The  maker  of 
cheap,  inferior  products  may  get  a  quicker  and 
larger  return  on  his  money,  but  there  is  an  increas- 
ing number  of  men  for  whom  business  is  an  art. 
In  production,  in  buying  and  selling,  in  the  practice 
of  law  and  medicine,  many  are  finding  a  real  outlet 
for  the  religious  instinct. 

While  on  the  part  of  the  worker  certain  ethical 
qualities  are  maintained  by  modern  industry,  others 
are  in  jeopardy,  and  provision  must  be  made  for 
their  safeguarding.  We  are  familiar  with  the  ap- 
palling list  of  industrial  casualties  and  occupa- 
tional diseases,  but  no  one  has  attempted  to  meas- 
ure the  moral  cost  of  labor-saving  machinery.  The 
discontent  of  the  workers  and  the  labor  troubles 


44         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

which  have  followed  in  its  wake  are  contempora- 
neous with  the  modern  factory  system.  The  ma- 
chine and  the  subdivision  of  labor  rob  the  opera- 
tive of  all  the  joy  of  labor  because  he  no  longer 
turns  out  a  finished  product,  and  all  that  is  left  to 
him  is,  for  long  stretches  of  time,  to  go  through 
one  monotonous  set  of  motions.  The  machine 
which  grows  more  and  more  ingenious  does  all  the 
thinking  and  leaves  him  no  stimulus  to  thought  and 
no  play  for  the  imagination.  Skill  is  of  value  only 
in  acquiring  speed  which  is  physically  exhausting 
and  mentally  deadening.  The  operator  takes  no 
pride  in  his  work  for  the  machine  does  most  of  it. 
Discontent  and  revolt  are  the  immediate  result  and 
the  worker's  one  thought  comes  to  be  not  the  qual- 
ity of  his  work,  but  how  he  can  receive  as  much 
pay  for  as  little  of  this  joyless  toil  as  possible. 

To  offset  the  moral  waste  of  the  machine  and 
the  deadening  effect  of  the  factory  system,  factories 
are  being  made  not  only  safe  and  sanitary  but  pleas- 
ing to  the  eye  and  adapted  to  purposes  of  recrea- 
tion. In  many  cases  working  people  return  in  the 
evening  for  dancing  and  other  forms  of  recreation 
to  the  factories  where  they  have  toiled  during  the 
day.  This  new  attitude  toward  the  place  of  toil  is 
of  the  utmost  significance.  However,  a  halt  con- 
not  yet  be  made.  Hours  of  labor  must  be  short- 
ened and  wages  increased  as  far  as  may  be,  that  in 
the  time  of  leisure  the  toilers  may  have  an  oppor- 
tunity for  culture  and  play  and  social  expression 
and  that  more  abundant  life  for  which  the  Chris- 


SPIRITUAL  POSSIBILITIES  OF  BUSINESS  LIFE        45 

tian  religion  stands.  It  goes  without  saying  that 
economic  laws  must  always  be  regarded,  but  the 
human  element  in  industry  must  first  of  all  be  taken 
into  account.  If  a  man  has  a  genius  for  business 
let  him  think  of  that  as  a  call  to  a  field  of  activity 
in  which  he  can  help  many  to  find  a  larger,  richer 
life.  Any  business  that  doesn't  contribute  to  life, 
that  cannot  pay  a  living  wage,  that  cannot  return  a 
profit  without  the  exploitation  of  human  beings,  is 
uneconomic,  wasteful,  and  inhuman,  and  has  no 
reason  to  exist,  for  it  takes  more  out  of  the  com- 
munity than  it  puts  in.  If  the  business  is  needed  the 
selling  price  of  the  product  may  be  increased  until 
capital  earns  a  profit  and  labor  receives  a  living 
wage.  As  price  agreements  are  properly  illegal,  I 
know  no  way  but  one  in  which  the  employers  of 
good  will  can  pay  what  they  feel  the  work  is  worth, 
and  that  is  by  the  fixing  of  a  minimum  wage  for 
the  whole  industry  by  an  expert,  non-partisan  gov- 
ernment commission.  Meanwhile,  let  the  employer 
never  forget  that  those  in  his  employ  are  his  brothers 
and  sisters,  with  whom  he  must  share  his  prosper- 
ity, and  whom  he  must  protect  in  adversity,  for  the 
strong  ought  to  bear  the  burdens  of  the  weak. 

It  is  out  of  the  lack  of  personal  relations  between 
the  employer  and  the  employee  that  the  worst  evils 
of  the  present  industrial  struggle  have  grown. 
Once  the  master  dealt  directly  with  the  man.  Men's 
hearts  are  good  and  when  one  man  deals  with  an- 
other he  will  naturally  give  fair  treatment.  But 
under  our  present  highly  organized  form  of  indus- 


46         THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF  THE   CHURCH 

try  the  relations  between  employer  and  employees 
are  wholly  impersonal.  There  is  no  personal  con- 
tact between  them.  A  multitude  of  superintendents 
and  heads  of  departments  and  clerks  keep  them 
apart,  and  the  interplay  of  brotherly  instincts  is 
thus  interrupted. 

But  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  characteristic 
of  our  day  is  the  growing  sense  of  social  solidarity.^ 
The  eighteenth  century  was  the  era  of  revolution, 
the  nineteenth  century  was  the  era  of  political 
equality,  and  the  twentieth  century  is  the  era  of 
democracy  and  brotherhood.  It  is  impossible  to 
measure  the  extent  and  the  influence  of  the  new 
social  feeling,  but  it  will  be  easier  to  underestimate 
than  to  overestimate  it.  It  has  tremendously  af- 
fected the  attitude  of  the  masters  of  industry 
toward  their  employees.^  What  employers  are  do- 
ing for  their  working  people  is  not  always  from 
expediency  or  even  from  a  feeling  of  kindness, 
but  often  out  of  a  real  sense  of  justice.  Many  men 
have  a  keen  sense  of  responsibility  for  those  in 
their  employ  and  frequently  keep  them  in  employ- 
ment when  it  would  be  profitable  to  let  them  go. 
A  large  group  of  employers  believe  that  they 
should  accept  responsibility  for  all  accidents  to  the 

*See  Shailer  Mathews,  'The  Gospel  and  the  Modern 
Man,"  p.  48. 

'  The  payment  of  a  minimum  five  dollars  a  day  wage 
by  Henry  J.  Ford  and  the  care  he  is  taking  to  help  his 
employees  to  a  wise  use  of  this  large  income  are  a  dra- 
matic illustration  of  what  is  taking  place  all  along  the 
line. 


SPIRITUAL   POSSIBILITIES    OF   BUSINESS   LIFE        47 

men  and  women  in  their  employ,  as  well  as  to  the 
machine,  and  employer's  liability  laws  meet  their 
fullest  approval.  There  has  been  a  marked  growth 
in  profit-sharing  schemes  and  in  the  movement  for 
old-age  pensions.  Far-sighted  business  men  (as 
well  as  thoughtful  working  men  are  realizing  that 
the  next  step  in  industry  is  to  democratize  it  and 
so  establish  a  real  community  of  interest  between 
the  employer  and  the  employed.  How  to  give  the 
workers  a  share  in  the  conduct  of  the  business  as 
well  as  its  profits  is  the  problem  before  which  the 
leaders  of  industry  are  sitting  to-day.^  Already 
labor  leaders  have  been  invited  to  become  mem- 
bers of  Chambers  of  Commerce,  and  in  a  few  years 
men  from  the  factory  will  be  appointed  to  the 
board  of  directors  of  all  concerns  employing  a 
large  number  of  operatives.  So  that  the  old  per- 
sonal contact  between  master  and  man  is  in  process 
of  restoration,  and  with  its  establishment  many  of 
the  wrongs  of  modern  industry  will  be  eliminated. 

^  The  German-American  Button  Company  of  Rochester, 
which  has  been  remarkably  successful  in  creating  a  com- 
munity of  feeling  between  the  office  and  the  factory, 
among  other  methods  used,  asked  its  operatives  for  sug- 
gestions covering  the  following  points:  (i)  Improvement 
in  methods,  (2)  Saving  of  labor  or  materials,  (3)  Im- 
provement in  machinery  or  equipment,  (4)  Safety  ap- 
pliances, (5)  Reducing  fire  hazard,  (6)  Conveniences, 
betterments,  etc.  They  were  swamped  with  suggestions, 
and  for  those  which  had  merit  money  awards  were  given. 
Very  many  of  the  suggestions  were  acted  upon  and  at 
considerable  extra  expense  to  the  company,  as  few  sug- 
gestions for  economy  were  made. 


48         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

From  all  of  which  it  appears  that  the  business 
world  does  not  offer  an  alien  and  unfriendly  at- 
mosphere for  the  growth  of  religion.  The  law  of 
service  is  fundamental  to  business  and  the  very- 
existence  of  business  depends  on  the  maintenance 
of  certain  moral  principles.  In  a  later  chapter  I 
will  try  to  point  out  how  the  spiritual  possibilities 
of  business  may  be  fully  realized,  but  enough  has 
been  said,  I  trust,  to  show  that  they  exist.  The 
church  has  been  too  ready  to  excuse  itself  for  its 
failure  with  the  modern  man  by  charging  that  he 
is  unreligious  and  by  assuming  that  the  business 
career  is  hostile  to  the  growth  of  the  Spirit.  The 
mind  and  heart  of  the  business  man  have  offered 
to  the  sower  all  the  varieties  of  soil  mentioned  by 
Jesus  in  the  parable — his  life  is  sometimes  hard 
from  much  traffic,  sometimes  shallow,  sometimes 
overcrowded,  and  sometimes  receptive  to  ''the 
word  of  the  Kingdom" — ^but  this  is  not  peculiar  to 
business,  and  here  as  elsewhere  the  good  soil  is  on 
the  increase.  'Tossibly  the  most  notable  change 
in  our  national  life  in  the  last  decades  is  the  deep- 
ening of  its  note,"  says  our  best  American  story- 
writer.^  "Whereas  formerly  attention  was  given 
largely  to  things  of  the  surface,  of  late  the  mind 
has  been  directed  more  to  those  things  which  lie 
beneath."  Men  may  be  indifferent  to  certain  ex- 
periences of  religion  but  they  are  incurably  reli- 
gious.    They  may  have  dropped  away  from  the 

*  Thomas  Nelson  Page  in  the  preface  of  his  "Land  of 
the  Spirit." 


SPIRITUAL  POSSIBILITIES   OF  BUSINESS  LIFE        49 

church,  but  it  was  only  because  the  program  of  the 
church  has  not  been  big  enough  and  heroic  enough 
to  captivate  their  imagination  and  hold  their  alle- 
giance. 

In  helping  to  shape  the  new  social  order,  we  must 
make  clear  the  meaning  of  religion  concerning 
which  there  exists  so  much  confusion.  Men  who  are 
doing  justly  and  loving  mercy  and  walking  humbly 
before  God  do  not  know  that  they  are  in  any  sense 
religious.  So  that  while  there  is  need  to  recast  the 
teachings  of  Jesus  in  social  and  economic  terms, 
there  is  also  need  to  connect  the  idealism  of  busi- 
ness with  the  idealism  of  Christ.  It  is  our  task  and 
our  opportunity  to  unite  the  religious  spirit  in  man 
with  the  definite  religion  in  the  church,  to  give  to 
this  anonymous  religion  its  true  name  in  order  to 
make  it  more  completely  Christian.  Religion  is 
imbedded  in  all  ideal  striving,  in  all  disinterested 
striving,  for  all  such  striving  implicates  faith  in 
Something  beyond  the  immediate.  Therefore 
"Whatever  unifies  mankind,  whatever  rids  men  of 
vice  and  misery;  whatever  frees  them  from  fear 
and  want ;  whatever  takes  off  the  pressure  of  over- 
work is  religion."^ 

The  spontaneous,  natural,  instinctive  faith  in  the 
life  of  to-day  will  be  greatly  increased  when  it  is 
recognized  as  faith  and  identified  with  the  glowing 
religion  of  Christ.  So  long  as  men  imagine  that 
there  is  a  wide  gulf  between  the  good  life  they  are 
living  and  a  religious  life,  they  renounce  all  thought 
*Prof.  Simon  N.  Patten. 


50         THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

of  becoming  religious ;  when  they  understand  that  a 
religious  life  is  not  something  different  from  the 
good  life  but  is  just  living  it  more  abundantly/ 
straightway  they  will  become  more  religious. 

Hence  in  revising  the  message  of  the  church  all 
the  idealism  of  modern  life  should  be  recognized 
and  given  its  full  value  for  the  Kingdom.  It  will 
be  intensified  by  linking  up  this  anonymous  re- 
ligion with  the  more  definite  religion  of  the  church. 
This  is  just  what  happened  when  the  college  became 
a  university.  The  training  of  men  in  any  form  of 
science — medicine  or  agriculture,  pedagogy  or  for- 
estry, the  ministry  or  railroad  building — is  educa- 
tion. The  combination  of  these  various  forms  of 
instruction  in  the  university  gave  them  dignity  and 
breadth  and  fineness  and  made  them  appear,  what 
they  truly  are,  worthy  departments  of  culture;  at 
the  same  time  it  strengthened  the  college,  enlarged 
its  place  in  the  life  of  the  people  and  fitted  it  to  do 
greater  work  in  the  field  of  education.  On  the 
same  ground  I  plead  for  a  broader,  more  compre- 
hensive church. 

The  facts  of  modern  life  need  to  be  studied  and 
interpreted  sympathetically  by  the  religious  teacher, 
in  order  to  bring  together  the  forces  that  belong  to- 
gether and  to  unite  them  in  a  common  cause.  The 
church  should  allow  proper  "credits"  for  the  ideal- 
ism which  finds  expression  in  unfamiliar  ways  and 
for  the  multitudinous  disinterested  striving  of  mod- 

*  See  "The  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind,"  p.  249,  George 
Albert  Coe. 


SPIRITUAL   POSSIBILITIES   OF   BUSINESS   LIFE         $1 

ern  life.  It  should  dignify  all  work  for  the  com- 
mon good  by  showing  its  religious  quality,  and 
should  gather  about  its  standard  the  men  and 
women  who  are  doing  the  kind  of  "church  work" 
they  are  best  able  to  do.  All  who  have  been  touched 
by  the  modern  spirit  are,  in  one  way  or  another, 
helping  to  carry  out  the  spirit  of  the  church  and  to 
realize  its  mission.  The  world  to-day  is  ripe  for  a 
great  moral  and  religious  advance. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  GROUP  OF  TOlU 

Deeply  imbedded  in  the  New  Testament  is  the 
fact  that  the  ministry  of  Jesus  was  mainly  with  the 
poor  and  the  heavy-laden  and  the  toilers.  He  had 
friends  and  sympathizers  among  the  rich,  but  He 
found  readiest  response  among  the  poor.  In  sum- 
ming up  the  evidence  of  His  mission,  He  Himself 
put  this  fact  last  for  emphasis:  *The  poor  have 
the  gospel  preached  to  them."  It  was  the  poor  who 
heard  Him  gladly,  a  fact  significant  enough  to  be 
recorded.  Those  who  gathered  most  eagerly  about 
Him  were  the  common  people.  From  the  ranks 
of  the  group  of  toil  His  disciples  were  drawn,  and 
His  church  was  later  made  up. 

But  the  most  significant  fact  about  modern 
preaching  is  that  it  is  spoken  mainly  in  the  ears 
of  those  who  are  not  poor.  The  shifting  of  the 
church  from  the  toilers  to  the  prosperous  and  the 
comfortable  has  gone  far  enough  to  become  alarm- 
ing. That  their  absence  from  church  has  not  in 
the  majority  of  cases  grown  into  actual  estrange- 
ment and  hostility  somewhat  lessens  the  alarm.  It 
must  be  noted  that  for  many  working  people  regular 
church  attendance  is  not  easy.  Even  when  they 
have  a  desire  to  attend  they  are  often  kept  away 

52 


THE  CHURCH   AND  THE  GROUP  OF  TOIL         53 

by  the  exactions  of  their  work.  But  whatever  the 
reason,  non-attendance  becomes  a  habit  and  soon 
the  sense  of  need  of  the  church  passes  altogether. 
The  larger  proportion  of  non-churchgoers  shown 
by  working  people  than  by  people  of  comparative 
leisure  has  for  not  a  few  of  the  workers  a  per- 
fectly natural  cause. 

In  any  discussion  of  wage-earners,  several  classi- 
fications must  be  kept  in  mind.  There  are  first  of 
all  the  "soft-handed"  workers,  clerks,  salesmen, 
bookkeepers,  stenographers  and  such  like — who 
are  to  be  found  in  large  numbers  in  the  churches. 
There  are,  second,  the  unorganized  workers  of  all 
the  trades  and  of  no  trade  in  the  smaller  towns  and 
villages,  who  to  a  considerable  extent  are  church- 
goers. The  farmers,  while  in  the  main  loyal  to  the 
church,  do  not  come  under  this  head  at  all;  they 
are  capitalists  rather  than  wage-earners.  Farm- 
hands, however,  are  wage-earners,  and  constitute  a 
third  class  who  are  for  the  most  part  outside  the 
church.  A  fourth  class  is  made  up  of  those  factory 
workers  in  cities  and  towns  who  are  not  mechanics 
or  masters  of  any  trade,  but  are  "specialists,"  and 
usually  unorganized;  these  also  are  mainly  non- 
churchgoers.  And  finally  the  most  vital  and  influ- 
ential, if  not  the  most  numerous  group  of  wage- 
earners,  are  the  organized  workers,  among  whom 
we  find  the  smallest  percentage  of  church  attend- 
ance. 

The  wage-earners  who  are  not  unionized  are 
lacking  in  class-consciousness  and  must  be  consid- 


54         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

ered  as  individuals  or  in  small  groups.  True  the 
social  affinities  of  the  *'soft-handed"  workers  are 
largely  with  the  privileged  classes  and  their  inter- 
ests turn  them  toward  those  institutions  in  which 
they  will  come  most  in  contact  with  the  better-to- 
do,  for  some  persons  of  small  income  affect  those 
of  larger  income,  while  others  of  this  class  of  wage- 
earners  recognize  no  barrier  erected  by  difference 
of  fortune.  The  church  as  a  place  of  worship  and 
religious  instruction  means  the  same  to  rich  and 
poor  but  some  set  the  greater  store  by  it  because  of 
the  social  opportunities  it  offers.  In  another  chap- 
ter it  is  urged  that  the  church  ought  to  be  a  social 
center  and  supply  the  chance  for  folk  to  get  ac- 
quainted with  one  another.  This  social  interest  is 
unworthy  of  the  church  only  when  people  use  the 
church  to  climb  socially,  as  some  do  who  as  their 
income  increases  move  to  wealthier  and  more  fash- 
ionable churches.  However,  the  unorganized  work- 
ing people  who  are  indifferent  to  the  church  have 
about  the  same  reasons  for  their  indifference  as 
their  counterparts  in  the  other  class — the  main  one 
being  a  lack  of  interest  in  the  kind  of  life  for  which 
the  church  stands.  Many  use  their  Sundays  for 
rest  and  recreation,  and  are  justified  in  so  doing 
above  those  who  have  leisure  during  the  week. 
Some  have  lost  the  church-going  habit  because  they 
cannot  dress  after  the  mode  of  the  average  church- 
goer, and  others  because  they  feel  they  cannot  pay 
their  share.  But  unorganized  wage-earners  can- 
not be  considered  as  a  class.    They  may  belong  to 


THE  CHURCH    AND   THE  GROUP  OF   TOIL  55 

the  great  army  who  leave  the  church  alone,  but  it  is 
on  the  same  general  grounds  as  the  others  of  that 
army  who  are  not  wage-earners. 

The  organized  workers  are  the  only  wage-earners 
who  show  group  cohesion,  and  so  can  be  treated  as 
a  class.  They  are  the  only  ones  whose  attitude  is 
''standardized,"  but  even  here  we  must  speak  with 
caution.  Ask  representative  union  men  what  is 
the  attitude  of  organized  labor  toward  the  church 
and  they  will  reply  that  no  "attitude"  is  taken. 
Many  will  deny  that  there  is  or  has  been  any  hos- 
tility to  the  church.  But  a  study  of  their  public 
utterances  which  hark  back  to  former  states  of 
feeling — and  untrained  minds  are  liable  to  stereo- 
type and  preserve  earlier  forms  of  speech — shows 
a  smouldering  bitterness  toward  the  church.  Down 
to  some  fifteen  years  ago  there  was  a  well-defined 
though  unorganized  effort  to  separate  working  men 
from  the  church,  for  industrial  society  was  then  on 
a  war  basis.  Employers  and  employees  were 
drawn  up  in  two  hostile  camps  and  it  was  thought 
necessary,  in  order  to  win,  to  keep  the  prejudices 
of  the  workers  inflamed.  Hence  the  plan  was  per- 
sistently followed  to  alienate  the  workers  from  the 
church,  where  they  would  meet  their  employers  on 
common  ground  and  discover  that  they  were  not 
devoid  of  human  feeling.  The  two  parties  at  strife 
must  be  kept  from  knowing  one  another  for,  as 
Charles  Lamb  says,  when  you  know  a  man  you 
cannot  hate  him. 

This  purpose  might  be  disavowed  by  the  older 


56         THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

union  men,  but,  as  I  have  said,  it  crops  out  in  some 
of  their  utterances.  However,  the  "labor  agitator" 
has  given  place  to  the  "labor  leader"  and  the  "walk- 
ing delegate"  to  the  "business  agent."  The  men 
who  shape  the  policy  of  the  labor  movement  to-day 
are  saner,  more  far-sighted  and  reasonable  than 
their  predecessors.  So,  hostility  to  the  church  gave 
way  to  dissatisfaction,  dissatisfaction  to  indiffer- 
ence, and  now  indifference  is  giving  way  to  hospi- 
tality. The  wisest  labor  leaders  are  beginning  to 
feel  the  famine  that  may  come  upon  the  labor  move- 
ment without  the  appeal  to  the  spirit,  without  the 
appeal  to  the  religious  motive.  If  the  gulf  between 
the  organized  church  and  organized  labor  is  not 
bridged,  it  is  not  improbable  that  union  men  will 
have  churches  of  their  own.  This  has  already  come 
to  pass  in  England. 

While  disclaiming  any  hostility  to  the  church,  la- 
bor unionists  will  in  the  same  breath  assert  many 
and  valid  reasons  for  dissatisfaction  with  it.  Here- 
tofore the  workers  have  struggled  alone.  Know- 
ing as  we  do  the  character  of  the  men  who  control 
the  industries,  it  is  almost  incredible  that  until  re- 
cently every  move  of  the  worker  to  better  his  con- 
dition, and  every  law  making  for  the  same  end  has 
been  opposed  by  many  employers  of  labor,  and  that 
the  most  of  such  efforts  have  been  opposed  by  prac- 
tically all  of  them.  It  is  a  fact  psychologically  hard 
to  explain.  From  organized  religion  also  the  work- 
ers have  had  little  help.  When  Lord  Shaftesbury 
set  to  work  to  deliver  children  from  the  mines  and 


THE  CHURCH   AND  THE  GROUP  OF  TOIL         57 

cotton  mills  of  England,  few  ministers  dared  ap- 
pear on  the  same  platform  with  him;  at  first  only 
one,  says  his  memoirs,  "and  even  to  the  last  very 
few,  so  cowed  were  they  by  the  overwhelming  in- 
fluence of  the  cotton  lords."  It  must  be  said  that 
such  men  as  Bright,  Cobden  and  Gladstone  also 
opposed  his  reforms,  but  the  workers  have  a  right 
to  expect  greater  understanding  and  compassion 
from  the  church  of  Christ  than  from  statesmen — 
and  they  do. 

Working  people  have  had  ample  grounds  for  be- 
lieving that  the  church  was  hostile  to  them  and 
friendly  to  the  privileged  class.  The  clergy  when 
they  have  sp>oken  have  often  given  counsel  to  work- 
ing men  which  only  strengthened  their  impression 
that  the  clergy  maintain  a  servile  attitude  toward 
wealth  and  are  Suppliants  at  the  seat  of  power.^ 
Certainly  the  church  has  occupied  a  position  of 
neutrality  even  where  moral  issues  were  at  stake. 
The  burdened  and  heavy-laden  in  industry  have 
looked  in  vain  for  relief  from  the  followers  of  the 
Nazarene.  The  church  has  stood  ready  to  help  the 
needy  and  destitute,  but  in  the  last  hundred  years 

^W.  M.  Balch,  in  "Christianity  and  the  Labor  Move- 
ment," p.  24,  quotes  from  a  communication  of  a  group  of 
ministers  to  a  body  of  strikers:  "Is  it  reasonable  to  ex- 
pect that  by  attacking  your  employer  openly  and  in  secret 
and  by  trying  to  destroy  his  property  and  his  business, 
you  can  best  persuade  him  to  deal  generously  and  mag- 
nanimously with  you?"  as  if  self-respecting  workingmen 
wanted  "generosity"  or  "magnanimity"  or  anything  but 
justice. 


58  THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF   THE   CHURCH 

has  had  few  words  of  cheer  or  succor  for  the  toiler 
who  was  underpaid  and  overworked. 

This  cannot  be  honorably  explained,  but  may  be 
accounted  for.  All  have  labored  under  the  convic- 
tion that  the  fate  of  individual  workers  must  be 
left  to  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  and  to  the 
forces  of  competition.  It  has  been  honestly  be- 
lieved that  when  working  conditions  became  unjust 
the  number  of  persons  willing  to  work  would  at 
once  become  so  limited  as  automatically  to  correct 
those  conditions  in  order  to  attract  workers  to  fill 
the  places.  We  have  not  taken  into  account  that 
while  labor  conditions  may  be  hard  to  endure,  star- 
vation is  harder.  Hence  many  have  done  nothing 
in  the  matter,  because  they  thought  nothing  could  be 
done.  Many  more  have  done  nothing  because  they 
were  ignorant  of  the  facts.  When  Mr.  Winston 
Churchill  returned  from  Uganda  and  said  that  he 
had  seen  nothing  in  African  barbarism  so  distress- 
ing as  the  sordid  misery  of  the  underpaid  casual 
labor  of  London,  most  comfortable  folk  thought 
him  a  mere  enthusiast.  It  came  as  a  blow  between 
the  eyes  to  discover  shortly  after  in  the  great  rail- 
way strike  of  England  that  100,000  workmen  en- 
gaged on  railways  were  earning  less  than  $5  a  week, 
which  falls  50  cents  below  what  the  most  reliable 
social  investigator  said  was  the  lowest  sum  on  which 
a  family  could  subsist  in  decency.  A  new  form  of 
industrial  slavery  had  grown  up  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  church  or  of  those  not  immediately  con- 
cerned. 


THE    CHURCH    AND   THE   GROUP    OF   TOIL  59 

All  this  may  account  for  the  silence  and  indiffer- 
ence of  the  church  but  does  not  justify  it.  The 
laws  of  industry  must  be  modified  by  the  law  of 
brotherhood.  The  organization  which  assumes  re- 
sponsibility for  moral  leadership  and  for  "instruc- 
tion which  is  in  righteousness"  has  no  right  to  be 
ignorant  of  the  sorrows  and  sufferings  of  the  poor. 
Until  we  know,  we  cannot  help.  One  of  the  first 
tasks  which  the  early  Christian  Church  undertook 
was  to  improve  the  material  conditions  of  its  mem- 
bers and  to  set  aside  officers  for  that  purpose.  Jesus 
fed  the  hungry  and  healed  the  sick.  Love  always 
finds  out  the  miserable  and  ministers  unto  them. 
Christian  sympathy  to  be  genuine  must  mean  more 
than  a  velvety  disposition,  and  a  disinterested  out- 
look upon  this  tragic  world  of  ours.  The  poor 
heard  Jesus  gladly  because  to  the  meanest  and  most 
forlorn  He  held  out  a  hope.  And  we  cannot  won- 
der that,  so  long  as  the  church  gave  no  heed  to  the 
cry  of  the  toilers,  they  stood  sullenly  aloof. 

As  illustration  of  the  feeling  of  the  organized 
workers  toward  the  church  and  of  the  church's 
failure  to  meet  the  situation  let  me  cite  at  length  a 
specific  case  which  is  significant  of  the  whole  prob- 
lem of  the  industrial  worker  and  promises  to  be- 
come historic.  The  legislature  of  Illinois  at  its  1909 
session  passed  a  law  Hmiting  the  hours  of  women's 
labor  in  factories,  laundries  and  mechanical  estab- 
lishments to  a  maximum  of  ten  hours  in  each  day 
of  twenty-four  hours.  The  bill  was  introduced  by 
two  members  of  the  Waitresses'  Union  of  Chicago 


6o         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

and  the  working  girls  were  its  only  champions 
through  the  long  weeks  of  the  session.  Five  hun- 
dred manufacturers  went  down  to  Springfield  to 
defeat  it,  five  hundred  strong  men  against  two  frail 
girls.  They  used  every  known  tactic  to  do  the  bill 
to  death,  but  the  girls  won.  Being  signed  by  the 
Governor  the  law  became  effective  on  July  i,  1909. 
Its  enforcement  was  vigorously  begun  by  the  chief 
factory  inspector.  At  the  instance  of  the  Illinois 
Manufacturers'  Association,  the  W.  C.  Ritchie 
Company,  manufacturers  of  paper  boxes,  filed  a 
bill  of  complaint  praying  for  an  injunction  to  re- 
strain the  state  factory  inspector  and  state's  attor- 
ney of  Cook  County  from  prosecuting  the  com- 
plainant Ritchie  for  violations  of  the  ten-hour  law. 
Judge  Tuthill,  before  whom  the  case  was  argued, 
decided  the  law  unconstitutional  and  granted  the  in- 
junction. In  enjoining  the  enforcement  of  the  ten- 
hour  law  he  gave  as  reason  the  kind  of  utterance 
that  makes  some  courts  deserving  of  contempt: 
"This  law  seeks  to  prohibit  women  from  working 
more  than  ten  hours  a  day,  and  I  think  that  in  that 
respect  it  deprives  her  of  her  right  to  exercise  the 
right  of  contract  which  is  given  her  by  the  consti- 
tution." His  opposition  to  the  law  he  said  was  for 
the  sake  of  the  women.  He  must  have  known  that 
twenty  American  states  and  all  the  leading  coun- 
tries of  Europe  have  statutes  restricting  the  labor 
of  women.  He  must  have  been  familiar  with  the 
decision  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  in 
support  of  the  Oregon  ten-hour  law,  which  held 


THE   CHURCH   AND  THE  GROUP  OF  TOIL         6l 

that  woman's  "physical  structure  and  a  proper  dis- 
charge of  her  maternal  functions — having  in  view 
not  merely  her  own  health,  but  the  well-being  of 
the  race — justify  legislation  to  protect  her  even 
against  herself."  And  yet  he  set  aside  the  only 
legislation  for  the  protection  of  womanhood  and 
motherhood  which  had  managed  to  get  through 
the  Illinois  legislature  in  fourteen  years,  and  on 
the  pretext  that  he  was  trying  to  raise  the  woman- 
hood of  Illinois  to  a  point  where  she  would  be  free 
from  legal  restrictions. 

The  newspapers  flamed  with  indignation.  And 
what  did  the  churches  of  Illinois?  Nothing!  Some 
few  preachers  may  have  uttered  a  protest,  but  no 
concerted  action  was  taken.  Then  the  Chicago 
Federation  of  Labor  appealed  to  the  churches  to 
help  arouse  public  opinion.  Every  minister  of  the 
city  was  asked  to  raise  his  voice  in  the  pulpit  in 
the  name  of  the  motherhood  of  the  state.  When 
the  proposition  was  made  it  was  jeered  at  by  some 
of  the  delegates,  who  said,  "The  churches  are  al- 
ways against  anything  the  working  people  want." 
But  wiser  counsel  prevailed.  "If  the  preachers  are 
sincere  in  seeking  to  do  good,  as  I  assume  they 
are,"  said  a  printer,  "surely  there  is  nothing  that 
can  appeal  more  strongly  than  a  request  of  this 
kind.  There  can  be  no  higher  form  of  religion 
than  that  which  aims  to  protect  motherhood  and 
little  children."  "I  think  it  not  only  proper  to  ask 
the  preachers  to  assist  us,"  said  another,  "but  we 
should  demand  of  them  that  they  get  in  line  with 


62         THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF   THE   CHURCH 

US  for  once  in  their  lives."  "Let  them  show  where 
they  stand,"  said  a  painter,  "whether  they  are  on 
the  side  of  humanity  or  the  almighty  dollar." 

The  ministers  responded.  Resolutions  were 
adopted  by  the  Illinois  Synod  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  the  Illinois  Baptist  State  Convention  and 
the  Ministers'  Union  of  the  Congregational  Church 
of  Chicago,  endorsing  the  ten-hour  law  and  prom- 
ising assistance  and  cooperation  in  the  struggle  for 
a  shorter  working  day  for  women  in  mills  and  fac- 
tories. In  each  set  of  resolutions  the  appeal  of 
organized  labor  was  referred  to  and  it  was  inti- 
mated that  this  action  was  in  response  to  the  request 
of  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor.  Why?  Why 
should  the  moral  teachers  of  a  state  wait  until  they 
are  solicited  before  putting  themselves  on  record 
as  to  a  great  social  and  moral  question?  Why 
should  it  be  left  to  the  newspapers  to  lead  in  such 
a  crisis?  Why  should  we  Christian  ministers  wait 
until  we  are  appealed  to  before  announcing  what 
God  requires,  and  so  create  the  impression  that  we 
are  unfriendly  to  the  workers  and  unmindful  of 
justice?  Why  should  we  need  the  prayers  of  the 
weak  and  oppressed  to  move  us  to  lift  our  voices  in 
God's  name  and  declare  what  it  means  "to  do  justly 
and  love  mercy  and  walk  humbly  before  God"? 

I  suppose  that  no  labor  leader  expects  the  church 
to  espouse  the  entire  economic  program  of  the 
trade  union,  but  in  so  far  as  organized  labor  raises 
a  moral  issue,  the  church  is  recreant  if  it  ignores  it. 
Every  moral  question  of  the  day  challenges  the 


THE   CHURCH    AND   THE   GROUP   OF  TOIL         63 

church  for  a  judgment  which  we  cannot  fail  to  give 
without  forfeiting  our  position  as  teachers  of  mor- 
als. And  as  Bishop  Gore  says,  behind  the  more 
technical  and  political  proposals  of  the  workers 
"there  is  a  fundamental  appeal  for  justice  which 
the  Christian  church  cannot  ignore."  Certainly  the 
protection  of  children  workers,  the  shortening  of 
hours  for  women,  the  securing  of  proper  sanitation 
in  factories  and  mills,  the  protection  of  Hfe  and 
limb  from  dangerous  machinery,  the  securing  of 
two  openings  to  mines,  and  many  kindred  issues  of 
labor  unions  are  moral  questions  and  within  the 
sphere  of  the  church.  Upon  such  questions  of  jus- 
tice between  man  and  man  we  must  have  some- 
thing to  say. 

No  wonder  the  men  of  toil  think  the  church  is 
hopeless  when  we  have  so  long  remained  silent 
where,  as  moral  leaders,  we  were  looked  to  for  a 
judgment.  No  wonder  they  have  so  poor  an  opin- 
ion of  us  ministers  when  they  have  had  almost  no 
help  from  us  when  their  cause  ceased  to  be  merely 
economic  and  became  moral.  At  a  convention  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor  a  textile  worker 
of  Massachusetts  told  me  that  he  had  been  working 
for  fifteen  years  to  secure  a  reduction  of  thirty 
minutes  in  the  long  working  day  of  girls  in  the 
mills,  and  that  he  had  received  no  assistance  from 
any  minister  or  any  church  in  New  England.  I 
replied,  "Did  you  put  it  up  to  them?  Did  you  get 
them  on  record  as  to  where  they  stood?"  but  as  I 
said  it  I  felt  the  emptiness  of  my  objection.    Ought 


64         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

the  church  to  wait  to  be  solicited  on  a  moral  issue  ? 
And  is  not  the  length  of  the  working  day  for  girls 
a  moral  issue?  Does  it  not  cut  to  the  heart  of  the 
social  life  of  the  community?  Is  not  the  health  of 
the  future  wives  and  mothers  of  the  people  a  prime 
moral  concern?  And  has  not  the  church  made  a 
mistake,  "dangling  little  spotless  babies  over  a 
Christian  font,"  ^  but  with  nothing  to  say  about  the 
industrial  conditions  which  weaken  the  bodies  and 
dwarf  the  souls  of  boys  and  girls  ? 

All  this  is  in  change.  The  inequalities  of  indus- 
try and  the  welfare  of  the  worker  are  becoming  a 
prime  concern  with  the  moral  teacher ;  the  problems 
and  ideals  of  organized  labor  are  getting  understood 
by  church  leaders;  and  on  the  other  hand  labor's 
distrust  is  passing.  The  interchange  of  fraternal 
delegates  between  labor  unions  and  ministerial  as- 
sociations has  helped  mightily.  Whenever  minis- 
ters and  labor  leaders  have  really  come  to  know 
one  another  genuine  respect  and  confidence  have 
been  established.  The  good  offices  of  the  religious 
teacher  in  labor  disputes  are  not  only  welcome  but 
solicited.^    Personally,  I  have  found  in  some  union 

*From  an  address  by  Rev.  Charles  S.  Parkhurst, 
D.D.,  before  the  New  York  State  Conference  of  Re- 
ligions, 1908, 

'In  a  recent  street-railway  strike  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  the 
names  of  four  prominent  clergymen  were  proposed  for 
the  committee  of  arbitration,  a  Congregational  minister, 
an  Episcopal  bishop,  a  Catholic  priest  and  a  Jewish  rabbi. 
These  names  were  rejected  by  the  company,  which  indi- 
cates that  the  former  situation  has  been  reversed. 


THE  CHURCH   AND  THE  GROUP  OF  TOIL         65 

men  a  kind  of  hopelessness  as  to  the  future  of  or- 
ganized labor,  and  in  others  a  great  hope  springing 
out  of  the  belief  that  the  period  of  isolation  is  over 
and  that  the  time  of  co-operation  with  the  church 
and  the  welfare  worker  is  at  hand. 

For  my  own  part  I  believe  that  labor  organiza- 
tions have  run  their  course  unless  they  have  the 
sympathy  and  cooperation  of  the  other  great  moral 
agencies  in  the  field.  Tremendous  advantages  have 
been  secured  by  the  group  of  toil,  hours  of  labor 
have  been  reduced,  better  work  conditions  have 
been  secured,  many  reforms  have  been  made,  with- 
out the  assistance  of  the  church.  But  industrial 
organizations  have  about  reached  their  limit  single- 
handed.  The  forces  organized  against  them  are 
too  strong  for  them  to  make  further  progress  on  a 
war  basis.  Their  hope  for  the  future  is  in  the  jus- 
tice of  their  cause  backed  by  the  moral  sentiment 
of  the  community.  The  use  of  force  is  recognized 
to  be  a  hindrance  to  the  cause  of  labor  because  it 
forfeits  the  sympathy  and  moral  support  of  the 
public.^  The  workers'  victories  in  the  future  will 
be  won  only  as  they  can  get  before  the  people  the 
fairness  and  justice  of  their  cause.  The  conscience 
of  the  people  is  their  court  of  appeal.    They  are 

*  President  Samuel  Gompers  of  the  American  Federa- 
tion of  Labor  asserts  that  the  only  kind  of  force  he  ap- 
proves is  "moral  force,"  for  "when  compulsion  is  used, 
only  resentment  is  aroused  and  the  end  is  not  gained. 
Only  through  moral  suasion  and  appeal  to  man's  reason 
can  a  movement  succeed." 


66         THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF  THE   CHURCH 

helpless  without  popular  sympathy  and  support; 
they  are  irresistible  with  it.  Their  cause  is  lost  in 
so  far  as  it  isn't  moral ;  no  one  can  withstand  it  if 
the  moral  values  involved  are  widely  recognized 
and  accepted.  And  as  the  church  creates  and  di- 
rects moral  sentiment,  the  group  of  toil  needs  as 
never  before  the  moral  support  of  the  church. 

Here  then  we  have  two  great  movements  that 
need  one  another.  The  church  needs  the  heroism, 
the  loyalty,  the  spirit  of  sacrifice  of  the  group  of 
toil.  It  needs  some  of  the  military  qualities  which 
the  workers  possess,  and  particularly  to  learn  from 
them  how  to  fulfill  the  law  of  Christ  that  the  strong 
ought  to  bear  the  burdens  of  the  weak.  The  church 
has  not  done  its  work  until  it  wins  those  who  gath- 
ered with  a  strange  new  hope  about  Jesus,  until 
it  wins  the  hundredth  man.  The  labor  movement 
for  its  part  is  powerless  to  do  more  for  its  adher- 
ents without  the  help  of  the  church  and  the  moral 
feeling  of  the  community.  The  business  on  both 
sides  is  to  bring  church  and  labor  together.  And 
here  the  church  has  more  at  stake.  For  the  group 
of  toil  can  hold  what  they  have  won  and  be  content 
with  that.  The  church  can  never  be  content  so  long 
as  there  is  a  large  part  of  our  population  which  it 
does  not  reach. 

The  church  will  have  to  take  the  initiative. 
Workingmen  know  that  whatever  social  emancipa- 
tion has  been  won  has  been  won  without  any  direct 
aid  from  the  churches.  They  have  long  felt  inde- 
pendent of  the  church.     Often  they  have  regarded 


THE   CHURCH   AND   THE   GROUP   OF  TOIL  6/ 

the  church  with  suspicion.  They  feel  that  the 
church  has  allied  itself  with  the  rich  and  turned 
away  from  the  poor.  They  see  men  in  high  office 
in  the  church  whom  they  believe  to  be  unfair  and 
oppressive  in  their  dealings  with  their  employees. 
Not  a  few  are  of  the  opinion  that  we  ministers  are 
muzzled  by  our  rich  pew-holders  and  dare  not 
preach  the  whole  Gospel.  Some  will  say  that  their 
unions  are  more  religious  than  the  churches.  Cer- 
tainly in  finding  work  for  their  unemployed,  in  bear- 
ing one  another's  burden,  in  caring  for  the  sick 
and  burying  the  dead  they  are  doing  far  more  than 
the  church  to-day.  In  practical  brotherhood,  as  is 
pointed  out  elsewhere,  the  church  has  fallen  behind 
the  lodge  and  union  and  fraternal  order.^  Keir 
Hardie,  the  leader  of  the  labor  party  in  parliament, 
asserts,  'Tn  the  working  class  movement  to-day, 
especially  in  the  Socialist  section  of  it,  there  is  to 
be  found  more  of  the  true  spirit  and  teaching  of 
Jesus  than  in  most  of  the  churches  of  the  land." 
Whether  this  be  true  or  not  is  a  question  which  it 
is  futile  to  debate.  The  fact  to  be  reckoned  with 
by  the  church  is  that  many  working  people  sincerely 
believe  it  to  be  true. 

At  any  rate  the  indifference  of  workingmen  has 
become  a  habit.  They  have  lost  all  sense  of  need 
of  the  church  and  the  sense  of  need  must  be  created 
anew.  Yet  some  of  them  admit  that  the  religion 
of  the  union,  though  it  seems  more  practical  and 
real  than  the  religion  of  the  church,  does  not  satis- 

*  Compare  pages  225,  226. 


68         THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF   THE  CHURCH 

fy  their  whole  nature.  The  service  of  man  with- 
out the  belief  that  God  has  supreme  claims  on  the 
soul  is  only  a  half-religion;  human  brotherhood 
without  divine  Fatherhood  is  only  part  of  the  truth. 
And  the  church  with  its  whole  truth  can  win  men 
back  to  its  worship  and  fellowship  if  it  will.  Work- 
ingmen  love  the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth.  All  be- 
lieve in  Christ  though  they  distrust  many  modern 
followers  of  Christ.  Men  are  essentially  religious, 
the  labor  movement  has  many  religious  qualities, 
and  it  is  the  church  and  not  religion  which  has  lost 
its  hold  on  the  toilers.  Time  will  be  required  to 
win  their  confidence  and  create  a  sense  of  need  of 
the  church.  It  will  take  years  to  remove  the  es- 
trangement as  it  took  years  to  build  it  up.  But  it 
can  be  done. 

In  England  great  bodies  of  workingmen  get  to- 
gether on  Sunday  afternoons  in  the  churches,  and 
the  Brotherhood  Movement,  composed  almost  en- 
tirely of  workingmen,  is  one  of  the  strongest  re- 
ligious forces  in  Great  Britain.  The  apparent  an- 
tagonism to  religion  of  some  of  the  workers  is  due 
to  the  lack  of  clear  thinking :  in  some  cases  religion 
is  confused  with  the  organizations  of  religion,  and 
in  others  men  who  have  the  Spirit  of  religion  deny 
its  name.  Some  of  the  Socialists  establish  Sunday 
Schools  to  teach  their  children  that  there  is  no  God, 
that  there  is  no  future  life,  no  heaven  and  no  hell. 
The  motive  of  this  brand  of  Socialist  is  to  turn 
the  attention  of  the  coming  generation  away  from 
the  other  world  that  they  may  give  their  undivided 


THE    CHURCH    AND   THE   GROUP    OF   TOIL  69 

attention  to  the  present  world  in  order  to  make  the 
life  that  men  live  on  this  planet  more  tolerable  and 
the  conditions  of  society  more  equitable.  It  is  a 
blind  and  stupid  policy,  but  it  has  been  arrived  at 
by  very-much-in-earnest  men  who  have  seen  the 
failure  of  the  religion  of  other-worldliness  to  grap- 
ple seriously  with  the  problems  of  this  Hfe.  Here 
is  an  atheism  which  denies  itself.  The  Rev.  R.  F. 
Horton  ventures  to  call  it  "a  protest  of  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  against  a  Christless  Christianity."  And  the 
Socialist  who  is  trying  to  bring  the  kingdom  of  God 
upon  earth,  however  we  may  differ  from  him  as  to 
program,  must  be  found  a  place  among  the  servants 
of  the  King. 

Even  the  supposedly  atheistic  workingman  is 
within  reach  of  the  church  of  Christ.  With  many 
Socialists  religion  amounts  to  a  passion.  This 
memorable  statement  of  Mr.  Keir  Hardie  has  been 
heralded  across  the  world:  "My  friends  and  com- 
rades, I  often  feel  very  sick  at  heart  with  politics 
and  all  that  pertains  thereto.  If  I  were  a  thirty 
years  younger  man,  with  the  experience  I  have 
gained  during  the  past  thirty-five  years,  I  would, 
methinks,  abandon  house  and  home  and  wife  and 
child,  if  need  be,  to  go  forth  among  the  people  to 
proclaim  afresh  and  anew  the  full  message  of  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth."  ^ 

Now  all  this  idealism  of  the  worker,  like  the 
idealism  of  business,  is  of  the  same  kind  as  the 

^Quoted  by  R  Herbert  Stead  in  "The  Constructive 
Quarterly,"  April,  1914. 


70         THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

idealism  of  the  church,  and  they  should  be  more 
closely  related.  The  sympathetic  religious  teacher 
can  link  all  disinterested  striving  together  and  bring 
all  those  who  love  and  serve  their  fellow  men  into 
the  church  which  is  the  organized  Spirit  of  Him 
who  said,  '1  am  in  the  midst  of  you  as  he  that 
serveth."  ^ 

It's  the  church's  job,  for  we  are  commissioned  to 
seek  and  save.  We  may  not  wait  for  the  workers 
to  come  to  us.  We  need  not  expect  them  to  adapt 
themselves  to  the  churches,  and  fall  in  with  our 
ways.  In  any  adaptation  which  needs  to  be  made 
the  church  must  lead  off,  must  ''cast  the  net  on  the 
other  side."  On  the  face  of  things  the  people  are 
getting  on  better  without  the  church  than  the  church 
is  without  the  people.  But  whatever  self-interest 
the  church  may  have  in  the  issue  it  is  not  half  so 
compelling  a  motive  as  the  disinterested  purpose  and 
mission  of  the  church.  We  are  to  be  as  the  shep- 
herd who  left  the  ninety  and  nine  safe  in  the  fold 
for  the  one  who  was  lost.  Scolding  and  inviting 
will  avail  nothing.  We  must  discover  new  ways  of 
making  our  appeal  and  of  reaching  after  the  non- 
churchgoer. 

Before  hoping  to  win  the  workers  back  to  the 
church  we  must  first  of  all  break  down  suspicion 
and  distrust  wherever  they  exist.  Union  men  have 
expected  nothing  else  but  harsh  and  unreasonable 
criticism  from  the  pulpit.  The  minister  therefore 
as  the  church's  spokesman  must  have  a  sympathetic 

^  Luke  22 :  27. 


THE   CHURCH    AND   THE   GROUP   OF  TOIL  7I 

understanding  of  labor's  rights  and  claims,  and  he 
must  make  it  clear  that  no  group  of  men  are  re- 
mote from  his  interest.  It  may  be  that  an  over- 
emphasis of  labor's  side  of  the  argument  will  be 
needed  to  remove  the  workers'  feeling  that  the 
church  has  taken  sides  with  the  employer.  The 
case  of  the  worker  will  without  doubt  have  to  be 
stressed  for  a  while,  and  for  this  every  reasonable 
and  fair-minded  employer  in  the  church  will  see  the 
necessity. 

There  are  certain  great  economic  principles 
which  rise  clear  above  the  realm  of  economics  and 
into  the  field  of  religion.  These  at  any  rate  should 
be  presented  from  the  pulpit.  Such  a  statement  of 
principles  is  contained  in  the  declaration  of  the 
Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  Amer- 
ica, affirmed  in  1908  and  reaffirmed  with  some 
additions  in  1912.  Most  of  these  declarations  have 
reference,  though  not  exclusively,  to  the  industrial 
worker,  and  they  are  sane,  reasonable  and  almost 
axiomatic.     The  complete  utterance  is  as  follows: 

"The  Churches  must  stand: 

For  equal  rights  and  complete  justice  for  all  men 
in  all  stations  of  life. 

For  the  protection  of  the  family,  by  the  single 
standard  of  purity,  uniform  divorce  laws,  proper 
regulation  of  marriage,  and  proper  housing. 

For  the  fullest  possible  development  for  every 
child,  especially  by  the  provision  of  proper  educa- 
tion and  recreation. 

For  the  abolition  of  child  labor. 

For  such  regulation  of  the  conditions  of  toil  for 


72         THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

women  as  shall  safeguard  the  physical  and  moral 
health  of  the  community. 

For  the  abatement  and  prevention  of  poverty. 

For  the  protection  of  the  individual  and  society 
from  the  social,  economic,  and  moral  waste  of  the 
liquor  traffic. 

For  the  conservation  of  health. 

For  the  protection  of  the  worker  from  danger- 
ous machinery,  occupational  diseases,  and  mortal- 

For  the  right  of  all  men  to  the  opportunity  for 
self-maintenance,  for  safeguarding  this  right 
against  encroachments  of  every  kind,  and  for  the 
protection  of  workers  from  the  hardships  of  en- 
forced unemployment. 

For  suitable  provision  for  the  old  age  of  the 
workers,  and  for  those  incapacitated  by  injury. 

For  the  right  of  employees  and  employers  alike 
to  organize  for  adequate  means  of  conciliation  and 
arbitration  in  industrial  disputes. 

For  a  release  from  employment  one  day  in  seven. 

For  the  gradual  and  reasonable  reduction  of  the 
hours  of  labor  to  the  lowest  practicable  point,  and 
for  that  degree  of  leisure  for  all  which  is  a  condi- 
tion of  the  highest  human  life. 

For  a  living  wage  as  a  minimum  in  every  indus- 
try, and  for  the  highest  wage  that  each  industry 
can  afford. 

For  a  new  emphasis  upon  the  application  of 
Christian  principles  to  the  acquisition  and  use  of 
property,  and  for  the  most  equitable  division  of  the 
product  of  industry  that  can  ultimately  be  devised." 

These  declarations  set  forth  the  social  creed  of 
the  churches.  Like  other  creeds,  it  is  not  lived  up 
to  by  all  in  the  church,  but  no  representative  men 


THE   CHURCH   AND  THE  GROUP  OF  TOIL  73 

have  reacted  against  it.  Since  these  and  similar 
resolutions  are  in  the  face  of  the  practices  of  some 
of  the  churches'  wealthy  and  powerful  supporters, 
the  absence  of  any  remonstrance  is  very  significant. 
An  accepted  standard  for  social  endeavor  has  been 
set.  It  represents  a  consensus  of  opinion,  the  com- 
mon sense  of  the  Protestant  Churches  of  America, 
and  is  backed  by  powerful  social  convictions.  Time 
will  be  required  to  work  up  to  it,  but  to  this  task 
the  church  is  pledged.  It  is  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance that  both  the  group  of  toil  and  the  group  of 
privilege  become  familiar  with  the  social  program 
to  which  the  church  is  thus  committed.  A  true  un- 
derstanding of  the  end  toward  which  the  social  pas- 
sion is  leading  the  church  would  win  the  gratitude 
of  the  workers  and  be  an  incentive  to  the  privileged. 
Of  course  the  demand  for  social  justice  which 
the  pulpit  must  sound  is  a  demand  for  justice  to  all 
parties  concerned.  The  moral  teacher  must  know 
the  purposes  and  ideals,  the  responsibilities  and  dif- 
ficulties of  employer  and  employed.  In  order  to  be 
adjusters  and  arbiters  between  men  one  must  have 
the  point  of  view  of  each.  One  has  found  that  the 
captains  of  industry  are  eager  to  talk  about  their 
business  with  an  expert  in  morals ;  they  are  anxious 
to  justify  themselves  before  the  community  and  the 
bar  of  their  own  conscience.  And  it  is  very  easy 
to  get  the  point  of  view  of  the  worker,  if  the  min- 
ister is  more  a  man  than  a  priest.  Since  the  ex- 
change of  fraternal  delegates  was  begun  the  labor 
meetings  in  most  cities  have  been  open  to  all  minis- 


74         THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF  THE   CHURCH 

ters  who  want  to  be  present  to  listen  and  learn.  No 
honest  man  will  find  it  hard  to  win  the  confidence 
and  sympathy  of  workingmen.  He  will  not  get 
them  to  his  church  at  once — it  may  take  another 
generation  to  do  that — but,  knowing  both  sides,  he 
can  mediate  between  employer  and  employee,  can 
interpret  one  to  another,  can  get  them  to  sit  down 
in  conference  and  talk  their  problems  out  as  man 
to  man  and  brother  to  brother.  And  when  men 
who  are  wide  apart  talk  things  over  in  an  honest 
and  friendly  spirit,  class  interest  will  give  way  to 
community  interest  and  men  will  no  longer  be  di- 
vided. 

Even  when  working  people  lose  their  suspicion 
of  the  church  as  an  institution  of  the  privileged, 
they  will  not  at  once  become  attendants  and  mem- 
bers of  the  church.  Appetite  does  not  always  fol- 
low immediately  when  distaste  is  removed.  We 
need  not  be  disappointed  if  the  presentation  of  the 
church's  social  program  and  well-planned  propa- 
gandic  meetings  are  not  followed  by  a  movement 
of  the  workers  into  the  churches.  Their  attitude 
must  be  changed  before  their  position.  Many  years 
will  be  needed  for  the  filling  of  the  chasm  and  the 
bringing  together  into  the  church  of  the  working 
and  possessing  classes,  but  sympathetic  patience 
and  persistence  will  achieve  it,  and  the  church  can- 
not be  truly  Christian  until  this  is  done.  Every- 
thing helps  which  makes  for  a  better  understanding 
between  the  church  and  the  worker.  The  presence 
of   a   ministerial   fraternal   delegate   at   the   union 


THE   CHURCH   AND  THE  GROUP  OF  TOIL         75 

meetings  has  a  greater  value  than  at  once  appears. 
For  labor  union  men  to  know  one  minister  well  is 
to  change  their  attitude  toward  the  organization  he 
represents.  Likewise  the  attitude  of  church  people 
will  be  greatly  altered  if  representative  union  men 
are  asked  to  address  men's  clubs  and  week-night 
gatherings  and  Sunday  platform  meetings.  Thea- 
ter meetings  and  meetings  in  halls,  which  are  dis- 
cussed in  another  chapter/  should  not  be  used  as 
veiled  schemes  to  get  wage-earners  to  attend  church. 
Let  all  such  propagandic  meetings  be  held,  and  all 
like  efforts  be  made,  with  the  honest  purpose  to 
bring  about  a  better  acquaintance  and  understand- 
ing between  church  people  and  non-churchgoers. 
Leave  it  to  acquaintance  and  understanding  to  do 
the  rest.  The  writer  is  often  asked  of  the  People's 
Sunday  Evening,^  of  which  he  is  one  of  the  minis- 
ters, how  many  who  attend  the  theater  meeting  ever 
come  to  his  church.  Not  many.  It  is  too  much  to 
expect,  and  I  did  not  expect  it.  The  church  by  its 
location  and  appointments  gives  one  the  impression 
that  it  is  for  the  well-to-do.  Out  of  set  purpose  the 
down-town  audiences  have  not  been  invited  to  my 
church,  but  we  have  always  presented  the  church's 
claim  and  urged  them  to  give  it  another  trial,  mak- 
ing our  plea  for  the  church  of  their  antecedents, 
whether  Protestant,  Catholic  or  Jewish.  Very  few 
may  have  been  turned  into  the  church  after  five 
years,  but  we  have  powerfully  changed  the  attitude 

*Part  III,  Giapter  3- 
*See  p.  214. 


76         TtlE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

of  thousands  toward  the  church.  Seed  has  been 
sown  in  soil  which  could  not  have  been  reached  if 
the  sowers  had  kept  to  the  pulpits  on  the  avenue 
and  in  the  residence  sections.  Good  seed  can  be 
trusted  to  bring  a  harvest. 

I  feel  very  strongly  that  in  reaching  after  the 
people  it  is  the  people  who  must  be  kept  in  mind 
rather  than  the  church.  Far  better  is  it  to  get  them 
under  the  permanent  influence  of  some  church  or- 
ganization, if  the  church  in  question  is  able  to  do 
for  them  what  is  needed,  but  where  churches  are 
not  suited  to  the  task  or  where  the  gulf  is  such  that 
it  cannot  be  bridged  in  a  few  years,  it  must  be  kept 
in  mind  that  to  get  people  to  church  is  not  the  end 
we  are  seeking.  Folks  do  not  exist  for  the  church, 
but  the  church  for  folks.  The  business  of  the 
church  is  to  change  the  hearts  of  the  people,  to 
exalt  their  standards,  to  better  their  lives,  and  to 
make  them  into  followers  of  Christ,  and  not  pri- 
marily to  make  them  church  members.  I  certainly 
believe  that  regular  church  attendance  would  help 
toward  these  ends,  but  at  present  many  don't  see  it 
that  way.  Until  they  do,  the  church  must  be  taken 
to  them. 

Jesus  reaffirmed  the  great  principle  that  one  must 
die  to  live.  The  church  is  no  exception.  It  must 
lose  its  life  to  find  it.  That  does  not  mean  that  the 
church  has  to  give  place  to  some  other  organization. 
It  is  equipped  to  do  the  work  Christ  wants  done  in 
the  world,  if  only  it  is  obedient  to  the  Spirit  of 
Christ.     But  the  church  need  not  be  careful  of  its 


THE  CHURCH   AND  THE  GROUP  OF  TOIL         "Jj 

life.  Let  it  touch  the  lives  of  men  with  power  to 
help  and  heal,  and  they  will  turn  to  it  as  plants  and 
shrubs  and  trees  open  toward  the  sun.  Let  it  be 
jealous  only  to  reach  all  men  with  its  message  and 
ministry  and  they  will  find  for  it  the  life  that 
abounds. 

When  the  worker  has  been  brought  to  a  better 
understanding  of  the  church  we  must  make  sure 
that  it  is  such  a  church  as  shall  win  his  sympathy 
and  keep  his  support.  From  here  on  the  discussion 
of  the  church's  ''message"  must  include  the  message 
of  the  pew  as  well  as  the  pulpit.  By  this  is  meant 
not  merely  the  preachment  from  the  pulpit  but  the 
whole  meaning  of  the  church,  the  message  of  its 
spirit  in  recognition  and  brotherliness  and  good 
will.  For  there  are  two  positions  of  the  worker 
which  we  must  be  prepared  to  meet:  "I  am  not 
wanted,"  and  ''I  do  not  want  it."  Each  position  is 
honestly  and  sincerely  occupied  by  large  numbers 
of  working  people. 

With  regard  to  the  former  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  caste  spirit  has  crept  into  the  churches. 
This  spirit  negatives  brotherhood.  Nothing  more 
quickly  unmakes  a  Christian  church  and  it  must  be 
eradicated  root  and  branch.  But  the  feeling  of 
caste  is  created  often  unintentionally  and  frequently 
has  no  basis  in  fact.  Many  have  inferred  that  they 
were  not  wanted,  as  Dr.  R.  F.  Horton  points  out,^ 
because  the  social  customs  of  other  people  did  not 

*  "Christianity  and  the  Working  Qasses,"  p.  89,  edited 
by  George  Haw. 


78         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

give  them  the  kind  of  welcome  they  expected.  "A 
difference  of  manners  and  etiquette  makes  people 
in  one  grade  think  that  they  are  slighted  or  insulted 
by  people  in  another.  They  who  have  never  waited 
for  an  introduction  to  mates  cannot  understand  the 
attitude  of  those  who  have  been  brought  up  never 
to  speak  to  others  without  being  introduced.  What 
in  one  grade  is  held  to  be  refinement  seems  to  an- 
other affectation.  The  courtesy  of  one  rank  seems 
coldness  to  another.  The  warmth  and  geniality 
which  in  one  place  are  welcomed  elsewhere  are 
thought  to  be  ill-breeding." 

All  the  while  church  people  think  they  are  very 
hospitable  and  wonder  how  anyone  can  feel  he  is 
not  welcome,  a  feeling  that  has  to  be  met  with  tact 
and  patience.  It  is  not  necessary  to  introduce  the 
manners  of  the  shop  or  street  into  the  church,  but 
there  are  many  natural  ways  of  making  people 
know  they  are  genuinely  wanted  and  heartily  wel- 
come.^ There  is  altogether  too  much  about  the 
church  at  present  which  acts  as  a  constant  re- 
minder of  social  distinctions.  Dress  is  often  very 
elaborate,  frequently  pews  are  rented  according  to 
a  schedule  based  on  their  desirability,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  place  is  sometimes  not  informal  and  demo- 
cratic. Does  it  not  show  a  lack  of  human  under- 
standing to  expect  working  people  to  attend  church 
when  such  a  charge  is  set  on  the  pews  as  either  to 

*In  some  downtown  churches  a  brief  social  meeting 
after  the  Sunday  night  service  is  held.  A  cup  of  tea  and 
a  wafer  help  mightily  to  bring  people  together. 


THE   CHURCH   AND  THE  GROUP  OF  TOIL         79 

put  church  attendance  out  of  their  reach  or  to  sub- 
ject them  to  humiliation?  A  self-respecting  poor 
man,  who  is  kept  standing  in  a  half-empty  church 
until  the  pew-holders  are  comfortably  in  their  seats, 
or  who  strays  into  someone's  pew  and  is  stared  out 
of  countenance  by  the  irate  tenant,  is  not  liable  to 
risk  a  second  experience  of  the  kind.  Such  treat- 
ment quickly  destroys  the  church-going  habit,  not 
only  for  him  but  for  many  acquaintances  to  whom 
he  repeats  the  episode. 

This  impression  that  he  is  not  wanted  is  strength- 
ened by  the  removal  of  churches  from  the  place 
where  the  worker  lives.  The  fact  that  the  church 
is  transferred  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  rich  and 
well-to-do  implies  that  the  religious  advantages  to 
be  given  any  community  are  to  be  measured  by  the 
ability  or  disposition  of  that  community  to  pay  for 
them.  Naturally  churches  follow  their  patrons,  and 
as  a  matter  of  convenience  buildings  are  placed 
where  they  will  be  accessible  to  those  who  attend 
the  churches.  But  if  the  church  is  to  serve  the  poor 
and  the  toilers  it  must  stay  where  they  are.  Home 
mission  boards  are  now  bringing  their  forces  to 
bear  upon  the  centers  of  population,  and  are  grap- 
pling with  the  city  problem  in  new  and  efficient 
ways,  but  the  most  that  mission  boards  can  do  isn't 
equal  to  the  problem.  Whenever  a  wealthy  congre- 
gation moves  its  church  edifice  from  a  neighbor- 
hood that  still  teems  with  people,  a  well-equipped 
church  ought  to  be  left  behind,  and  endowed  for 
an  effective  ministry  to  those  people. 


8o         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

Churches  which  are  set  to  serve  any  community 
should  be  officered  and  led  as  far  as  possible  by 
the  people  of  that  community.  Absentee  patrons 
may  secure  the  endowment  and  provide  the  sinews 
of  war,  but  they  should  not  be  the  trustees  and 
stewards  and  vestrymen.  Working  people  have  the 
feeling  that  they  are  wanted  as  church  members, 
that  they  are  welcome  to  the  congregation  to  be 
preached  at,  but  that  there  is  no  place  for  them  in 
the  administrative  work  of  the  church,  or  in  its 
counsels  and  conferences.  The  Salvation  Army 
has  taught  all  the  world  a  lesson,  and  has  shown 
that  the  poorest  and  humblest  develop  powers  of 
leadership  when  the  responsibility  is  laid  upon 
them.  It  is  from  the  ranks  of  the  unschooled  and 
uncultured  that  some  of  the  most  effective  preach- 
ers of  the  Army  come.  Lay  preachers  will  need  to 
be  used  more  and  more  by  the  church.  God  reaches 
the  people  through  the  people.  Men  who  work 
with  their  hands,  who  speak  the  same  language, 
who  share  their  interests  and  their  problems,  these 
are  best  fitted  to  preach  to  the  people.  It  is  the 
word  made  flesh  and  dwelling  among  them  which 
finds  its  way  to  the  hearts  of  men. 

Again,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  many  work- 
ing people  who  say  of  the  church,  ''I  do  not  want 
it."  It  may  be  rejoined  that  the  church  must  lift 
the  people  to  its  level  and  not  sink  to  theirs.  True, 
but  how  can  we  educate  the  people  to  want  the 
church  until  we  at  least  have  their  ears  ?  And  how 
do  we  know  that  the  church  as  it  is  to-day  is  just 


THE   CHURCH   AND  THE  GROUP  OF  TOIL         8l 

what  the  people  need?  Does  not  the  large  number 
of  people  who  have  no  interest  in  it  indicate  that 
the  church  may  not  be  performing  its  full  and  ade- 
quate function?  Those  of  us  who  find  the  church 
of  to-day  to  our  liking  have  no  right  to  force  our 
ideas  upon  others.  Every  man  has  some  concep- 
tion of  his  true  wants.  I  have  a  growing  respect 
for  the  average  man's  opinions.  It  is  certainly  the 
part  of  wisdom  to  find  out  what  kind  of  church  the 
people  want  and  see  if  those  wants  cannot  be  sup- 
plied, with  full  loyalty  to  Christ. 

The  church  has  always  drawn  new  life  from  the 
people.  From  them  come  those  forces  that  from 
time  to  time  have  broken  down  religious  privilege 
and  shaken  the  church  loose  from  its  grave-clothes. 
Christianity  itself  was  a  movement  of  the  people. 
The  twelve  disciples  were  laymen  and  only  one 
came  from  Judea,  the  priestly  section  of  Palestine, 
and  Judas  was  his  name.  Behind  every  reforma- 
tion on  the  continent  stood  a  monk,  and  the  monks 
were  a  lay  order.  Wycliffe,  Wesley  and  Booth 
were  leaders  of  great  popular  movements.  Tre- 
mendous as  is  my  faith  in  the  church  I  cannot  but 
re-echo  the  words  of  one  who  says,  "I  believe  in 
the  people  more  than  I  believe  in  the  churches. 
The  churches  are  but  man's  image  of  God,  but  the 
people  are  God's  image  of  Himself."^ 

At  any  rate  we  must  win  folks'  attention  and 
interest  before  we  can  be  of  any  direct  service  to 
them.    How  then  can  the  church  make  a  successful 

*  George  Haw,  op.  cit.,  p.  39- 


82        THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

appeal  to  the  group  of  toil?  By  giving  itself  more 
intelligently,  more  resolutely,  more  definitely,  to 
the  task  of  establishing  here  on  earth  the  Kingdom 
of  God.  The  church  must  be  organized  for  service 
as  well  as  services.  It  must  not  in  any  wholesale 
fashion  condemn  the  spirit  of  discontent,  or  coun- 
sel submission  to  unjust  social  conditions.  Christ 
came,  as  He  said,  to  cast  a  sword  upon  the  earth, 
and  His  church  must  foster  a  righteous  discontent, 
and  guide  it  to  the  working  out  of  a  better  order. 
It  must  join  issue  with  all  those  forces  which  hurt 
the  health  and  morals  of  the  people.  It  must  give 
unmistakable  evidence  that  it  exists  to  serve. 

The  Hon.  Arthur  Henderson,  M.  P.,  one  of 
England's  foremost  labor  leaders  and  a  leader  in 
Christian  work,  speaks  with  authority  as  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  great  group  to  which  he  belongs, 
when  he  says:  **We  Labor  men  are  not  unmind- 
ful of  the  vast  amount  of  effort  the  Churches  are 
making :  visiting  the  sick,  clothing  the  naked,  feed- 
ing the  hungry,  comforting  the  sorrowing.  What 
we  deplore  is  the  fact  that  coincident  with  such 
relief  the  Churches  have  not  attempted  to  get  at 
the  root-cause  of  all  the  evil  and  distress.  If  they 
would  display  the  same  amount  of  energy  in  seek- 
ing to  eradicate  from  our  collective  life  the  evil  it 
contains,  that  they  have  shown  in  seeking  to  deliver 
the  individual  life  from  sin,  there  would  have  been 
less  call  for  their  relief  work.  The  people  are  long- 
ing as  never  before  to  be  delivered  from  oppressive 
social  anomalies,  and  if  only  the  Churches  would 


THE   CHURCH   AND   THE   GROUP   OF   TOIL         83 

bring  their  vast  and  varied  machinery  to  operate 
against  these  evils  much  might  be  accomplished, 
and  the  gratitude  and  co-operation  of  the  multitude 
secured."  ^ 

Meanwhile  much  of  the  occasion  for  the  suspi- 
cion that  the  church  sides  with  the  possessing  class 
in  industrial  disputes  may  be  removed  by  providing" 
a  better  way  to  adjust  those  disputes.  The  present 
method  of  open  warfare  between  the  interested 
parties  must  give  way  to  the  orderly  procedure  of 
court  and  commission.  This  should  be  the  mes- 
sage of  the  church,  and  to  the  achievement  of  this 
reform  every  churchman  should  lend  his  influence. 
The  outstanding  principles  of  the  labor  union — 
the  right  to  organize,  collective  bargaining  and  a 
minimum  wage — are  absolutely  correct  in  princi- 
ple, but  the  methods  of  making  those  principles  op- 
erative are  out  of  keeping  with  our  Christian  civi- 
lization. The  strike  and  boycott  are  war  measures 
pure  and  simple.  The  best  labor  leaders  deplore 
them  but  feel  that  they  are  necessary  expedients. 
They  should  not  be  necessary.  In  no  other  depart- 
ment of  life  do  we  leave  men  who  have  a  difference 
to  fight  it  out  by  themselves;  all  disputes  must  be 
referred  to  the  courts  and  a  jury  decides  on  which 
side  justice  lies.  In  industrial  strife  alone  is  might 
reckoned  as  right.  The  outcome  depends  on  which 
is  stronger,  the  workers  or  the  employers,  with  hun- 

*  "Christianity  and  the  Working  Class,"  edited  by 
George  Haw,  p.  i35>  6. 


84         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

ger  and  want  fighting  on  the  side  of  the  employers. 
Whichever  wins  the  public  suffers. 

All  this  machinery  of  industrial  war  is  anti- 
quated, expensive,  unjust  and  cruel.  The  moral 
forces  of  the  community  should  insist  on  its  aboli- 
tion, though  many  on  both  sides  in  the  struggle 
prefer  to  be  left  alone.  The  records  show  that  in 
a  majority  of  industrial  differences  the  employers 
have  been  opposed  to  arbitration.  In  a  majority  of 
cases  arbitration  has  been  proposed  by  the  work- 
ers, and  yet  organized  labor  is  on  record  as  against 
compulsory  arbitration.  This  attitude  of  the  work- 
ers has  been  due  to  the  suspicion  that  they  could 
never  get  justice  from  the  courts,  but  their  position 
is  becoming  anomalous.  They  have  usually  been 
willing  to  trust  their  case  to  arbiters  selected  for  the 
particular  dispute  but  not  to  a  permanent  board  of 
arbitration  which  would  partake  of  the  nature  of 
a  court.  So  both  groups  will  need  to  be  won  over, 
but  the  public  has  some  rights  in  the  matter.  The 
objection  that  a  man's  business  is  a  private  con- 
cern and  must  not  be  interfered  with,  is  no  longer 
made  when  the  health  of  the  community  is  con- 
cerned ;  it  is  equally  absurd  when  the  peace  and  the 
morals  of  the  community  are  concerned.  Certainly 
if  a  jury  can  decide  as  to  a  man's  guilt  in  all  other 
matters,  and  a  court  can  pass  judgment  affecting 
a  man's  liberty  or  life,  a  properly  constituted  com- 
mission could  be  trusted  to  adjust  differences  as 
to  wages  and  hours  and  conditions  of  employment. 

With  the  establishment  of  such  a  method  of  ad- 


THE  CHURCH   AND  THE  GROUP  OF  TOIL         85 

justing  industrial  disputes  the  objectionable  war 
measures  and  the  need  ''to  recognize  the  union" 
would  pass  away,  and  with  them  the  bitterness  of 
strife.  Then  labor  organizations  could  give  them- 
selves to  the  improvement  of  their  crafts,  like  the 
old  guilds,  and  to  public  welfare.  Then  the  church 
could  not  be  charged  with  taking  either  side,  and 
the  way  would  be  open  as  it  is  not  now  for  winning 
to  the  church  the  great  working  population. 

When  the  ministers  of  Boston  asked  Mr.  Lincoln 
Steffens  how  they  could  reach  the  masses,  he  said, 
"Go  to  them  on  your  knees."  Not  as  to  inferiors, 
but  as  to  brothers  must  we  go,  not  as  holier-than- 
thou  teachers,  but  as  suppliants  in  the  name  of 
Christ  entreating  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 
And  it  may  be  that  from  the  deep,  quiet  life  of  the 
common  people  the  church  shall  receive  that  new 
impulse  and  power  which  will  make  it  "a  glorious 
church,  without  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing." 


CHAPTER  IV 

HOW    TO    CHRISTIANIZE   A    COMPETITIVE    WORLD 

This  is  a  competitive  world,  a  hopefully  competi- 
tive world.  Even  cooperation  must  have  in  it  a 
competitive  element,  for  it  is  competition  that  gives 
zest  to  life.  That  old  poem  of  Genesis  tells  only 
a  half-truth  when  it  names  work  as  a  curse  upon 
the  head  of  man.  True,  work  in  and  of  itself  may 
be  a  burden,  and  when  the  only  incentive  is  to  se- 
cure the  bare  conditions  of  subsistence  it  is  a  hard- 
ship. But  introduce  the  competitive  element,  let 
one  man  measure  himself  against  another,  and  work 
becomes  a  game.  Wherever  is  a  match,  provided 
it  is  played  in  good  spirit,  there  is  a  game,  though 
you  only  match  yourself  against  yourself  or  against 
nature.  The  competitive  spirit  under  right  condi- 
tions introduces  into  work  the  element  of  sport. 
Also  competition  of  some  sort  is  necessary  to  pro- 
mote individual  initiative.  Take  away  a  man's 
chance  to  match  himself  against  his  fellows  and 
he  will  not  turn  out  much  of  a  worker.  An  uncom- 
petitive world  is  unthinkable. 

But  for  what  shall  men  compete?     Upon  that 

question  turns  the  fate  of  society.     Humanity  has 

always  been  competitive  and  always  will  be,  but  the 

ground  of  competition  has  changed  and  must  be 

.86 


HOW  TO  CHRISTIANIZE  A  COMPETITIVE  WORLD        87 

changed  more  and  more.  Upon  this  change  of  the 
basis  of  competition,  of  the  stake  for  which  man 
plays  his  game,  depends  the  socializing  and  Chris- 
tianizing of  human  life. 

Time  was  when  the  bald  struggle  for  existence 
was  the  only  form  of  competition.  This  lowest 
form  of  competition  for  the  most  food  and  the  best 
parts  of  it  gave  place  in  time  to  the  contest  for 
power,  the  struggle  of  man  to  be  superior  to  other 
men,  to  win  against  them  in  a  matching  of  strength 
and  cunning,  that  he  might  have  dominion  over 
them  and  make  them  serve  him. 

"Dragons  of  the  prime  which  tare  each  other  in  the  slime, 
Were  mellow  music  matched  with  man.'* 

The  chief  was  the  man  who  wielded  the  heaviest 
club.  Afterward  when  man  began  to  join  his  brain 
to  his  muscle,  he  was  still  superior  who  by  cun- 
ning and  strength  was  more  powerful  than  his  fel- 
lows. 

Happily  the  stake  for  which  men  have  competed 
has  changed  for  the  better,  but  equally  happily  the 
competitive  spirit  remains.  Every  real  man  wants 
to  win,  whatever  the  game;  he  wants  to  excel,  to 
stand  out  among  his  fellows,  to  be  counted  great 
and  successful.  A  man's  eminence  in  any  age  is 
reckoned  on  the  basis  of  his  achievement,  but  on 
what  basis  is  achievement  reckoned?  Here  is  the 
heart  of  the  whole  matter.  ^'Indeed,  the  world's 
progress  may  be  read  in  the  changing  definition  it 
makes    for    achievement,"    says    William    Allen 


88         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

White.*  What  was  it  that  men  competed  for ;  what 
was  counted  success  in  any  age;  on  what  ground 
was  one  man  held  to  be  superior  to  another;  what 
was  the  power  and  excellence  which  men  craved? 
The  answer  to  these  questions  will  show  the  stage 
of  development  that  had  been  reached. 

When  society  became  organized  and  so  long  as 
war  was  considered  the  main  business  of  life,  the 
most  important  man  was  the  soldier ;  and  men  who 
wanted  to  achieve  became  soldiers.  In  the  middle 
ages  when  the  church  was  supreme,  holding  the 
reins  of  temporal  power  and  controlling  the  oppor- 
tunities of  culture,  the  priest  was  the  influential 
man;  and  men  who  sought  for  power  became 
priests.  But  with  the  invention  of  gunpowder  and 
printing,  the  soldier  and  priest  became  less  signifi- 
xant  and  lordship  passed  from  them.  Then  the  gov- 
ernor came  into  prominence,  and  the  men  who 
wanted  to  be  great  courted  the  favor  of  the  king 
or  entered  politics.  In  the  last  century  the  men 
who  could  handle  wisely  the  surplus  earnings  of 
their  fellows,  the  so-called  "wealth  producers"  and 
the  wealth  controllers,  were  considered  the  most 
important  men  in  the  state.  Then  the  capitalist 
came  to  occupy  the  position  of  eminence  and  power 
held  in  turn  by  the  soldier,  the  priest  and  the  poli- 
tician; and  men  who  wanted  to  be  great  entered 
upon  the  competition  for  gold.^ 

The  fierce  struggle  for  money  is  simply  the  man- 

*  "The  Old  Order  Changeth,"  p.  240. 
'  Idem. 


HOW  TO  CHRISTIANIZE  A  COMPETITIVE  WORLD        89 

old  desire  to  be  great  and  to  excel.  There  are  no 
misers  to-day.  Men  love  money  not  for  its  own 
sake  but  because  of  what  it  stands  for.  Money 
is  the  badge  of  success;  it  is  the  evidence  of 
achievement,  the  mark  of  superiority.  It  means 
power.  The  man  with  money  can  do  most  that  he 
wants  to  do.  He  can  buy  his  way  into  most  places 
he  wants  to  go,  he  can  command  and  be  obeyed. 
He  has  servants  and  satellites.  His  wealth  makes 
him  a  factor  in  the  community  to  be  reckoned  with ; 
it  gives  him  a  significance  which,  without  money, 
he  would  lack.  What  the  chieftain  and  priest  and 
monarch  could  do,  the  rich  man  can  do  in  propor- 
tion to  his  wealth.  There  are  in  America  to-day 
many  aggregations  of  capital  which  are  more  pow- 
erful than  a  commonwealth,  and  rich  men  who  have 
more  power  than  state  governors. 

This  is  the  kind  of  lordship  with  which  the  pres- 
ent generation  is  familiar.  Money  rules  to-day, 
and  many  men  with  the  instinctive  and  praise- 
worthy desire  for  preeminence  have  sought  it  by 
the  easy  and  popular  way — by  getting  money,  and 
more  money.  But  this  form  of  competition  which 
is  most  common  to-day  is  not  calculated  to  develop 
the  finest  in  men.  The  processes  of  money  getting 
are  so  impersonal  and  there  are  so  many  hidden 
turns  in  the  passages  by  which  money  passes  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  people  into  the  hands  of  the  few, 
that  the  rich  man  cannot  know  how  much  his  wealth 
may  have  cost  the  community.  The  soldier  who 
has  hewed  his  way  to  mastery  sees  the  blackened 


90         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

fields  and  demolished  castles,  but  the  man  who  is 
piling  up  money  does  not  see  what  he  is  doing. 
The  advance  of  price  by  one  or  two  cents  a  pound 
on  some  commodity,  in  order  to  swell  profits,  seems 
a  very  small  matter,  but  coupled  with  similar  ad- 
vances in  other  commodities  it  works  untold  hard- 
ship. And  yet  despite  the  meanness  and  cruelty 
which  are  often  involved  in  it,  so  long  as  money  is 
regarded  as  the  measure  of  greatness  in  business, 
so  long  will  money  be  the  thing  for  which  men  will 
compete. 

Now  one  of  the  best  possessions  of  mankind  is 
this  craving  to  achieve,  to  excel,  to  be  great,  to  have 
power.  The  race  has  made  progress  because  of  its 
inborn  love  of  achievement;  and  it  has  risen  to 
higher  levels  as  it  has  changed  its  definition  of 
achievement,  its  judgment  as  to  what  is  worth 
competing  for,  its  estimate  of  the  prize  for  which 
the  game  is  to  be  played.  The  way  to  socialize  an 
incurably  competitive  world,  therefore,  is  to  set  men 
to  competing  for  something  better  than  lordship 
and  gold.  We  cannot  get  rid  of  the  game,  and 
don^t  want  to,  but  we  can  change  the  rules  of  the 
game.  Society  is  just  as  good  as  the  stake  for 
which  men  play.  Christianize  the  rules  of  the 
game  and  the  game  becomes  Christian. 

That  is  not  so  difficult  as  it  may  sound.  Men 
are  good  rather  than  bad.  Their  life  is  controlled 
by  three  forces,  self-interest,  conscience  and  public 
opinion.  Self-interest  is  restrained  by  conscience, 
and  conscience  is  modified  by  public  opinion  which 


HOW  TO  CHRISTIANIZE  A  "COMPETITIVE  WORLD        9I 

is  the  community  conscience.  We  have  reached  a 
point  in  civilization  when  community  interest  has 
become  stronger  than  self-interest,  when  public 
opinion  is  the  biggest  factor  in  our  common  life. 
No  man  is  untouched  by  it.  Most  men  try  to  meas- 
ure up  to  what  is  expected  of  them.  Ultimately 
they  will  conform  to  the  requirements  of  their  class, 
their  community,  their  contemporaries.  Change 
the  rules  of  the  game  and  they  will  play  it  differ- 
ently. Set  up  a  new  standard  of  excellence,  a  new 
definition  of  achievement,  a  new  measure  of  suc- 
cess and  men  will  inevitably  play  for  the  new  stake. 
It  has  never  been  the  prize  that  men  competed  for, 
but  the  joy  of  winning  and  the  reputation  of  achiev- 
ing. And  once  let  an  intelligent  Christian  public 
opinion  fix  on  some  social  good  as  the  thing  for 
which  men  should  compete,  and  some  social  service 
as  the  measure  of  success,  and  at  once  the  game 
will  be  socialized. 

We  have  the  Christian  definition  of  achievement 
and  standard  of  success  at  hand,  "Whosoever  would 
become  great  among  you,"  and  "Whosoever  would 
be  first  among  you,"  said  Jesus  to  His  disciples. 
This  man  of  immense  social  passion  appeals  to  the 
competitive  spirit.  He  tells  those  who  desire  great- 
ness how  they  may  have  their  wish.  He  reckons 
with  the  undying  aspiration  of  men  to  be  first  and 
greatest,  and  builds  upon  it  as  the  basis  for  all  hu- 
man enterprise.  He  sets  the  seal  of  His  approval 
upon  this  desire  of  men  to  excel,  but  He  sets  for 
His  disciples  a  new  kind  of  excellence,  a  new  defi- 


92         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

nition  of  achievement,  a  new  basis  on  which  to  com- 
pete for  the  first  place.  "Whosoever  would  be 
great  among  you,  let  him  be  your  servant."  The 
adoption  of  this  rule  for  the  game — that  winning 
means  serving — will  change  the  game. 

This  revolutionary  measure  of  success  has  al- 
ready been  accepted  in  many  quarters.  The  soldier, 
the  physician,  the  teacher,  the  minister,  the  scien- 
tist, the  artist,  the  social  welfare  worker — these 
have  a  position  of  eminence  in  the  community. 
They  are  reckoned  in  many  cases  among  the  first 
citizens.  Many  of  them  have  achieved  greatness. 
And  they  are  great  not  in  proportion  as  they  amass 
wealth  but  in  proportion  as  they  render  service  to 
the  community.  When  the  physician,  for  example, 
discovers  a  new  method  of  treating  disease  he  gives 
it  at  once  to  the  world,  content  with  having  made 
his  contribution  to  the  relief  of  pain.  The  soldier 
IS  content  to  remain  poor  to  the  end  of  his  life, 
his  claim  upon  greatness  being  that  he  stands  ready 
for  any  service  to  his  country.  The  teacher  re- 
ceives but  a  meager  salary,  and  the  minister  is  sadly 
underpaid ;  but  neither  asks  for  pity  for  each  rests 
his  claim  to  eminence  upon  the  service  he  renders 
to  the  community. 

The  scientist  seeks  preeminence  through  service. 
No  sooner  does  he  unlock  some  secret  of  nature 
than  he  publishes  it  for  all  to  read.  There  is  a 
pathetic  story  of  the  two  aspirants  for  the  honor  of 
the  discovery  of  the  sulphuric  ether.  Both  of  these 
men  broke  the  law  of  their  genius,  entered  into 


HOW  TO  CHRISTIANIZE  A   COMPETITIVE   WORLD        93 

vexatious  and  wearisome  struggles  in  litigation  to 
get  pay  and  reward  for  themselves,  and  then  went 
out  like  a  sputtering  candle.  These  men  sought  to 
be  first  "after  the  way  of  the  Gentiles"  and  came 
to  naught.  The  real  scientist  works  for  nobler 
ends.  The  artist  competes  with  his  kind  in  the 
effort  more  faithfully  to  hold  up  a  mirror  to  na- 
ture. The  poet,  the  philosopher,  the  master  of  fic- 
tion, do  not  work  for  money,  but  to  make  some 
contribution  to  the  understanding  of  life,  to  render 
some  service  to  the  world  of  thought. 

The  most  dramatic  modern  illustration  of  the 
fact  that  human  endeavor  does  not  rest  upon  the 
stimulus  of  personal  gain  is  furnished  by  the  build- 
ers of  the  Panama  Canal.  The  canal  was  not  dug 
by  private  enterprise,  and  there  was  no  thought  of 
private  profit  in  the  whole  huge  undertaking,  but  a 
government  put  itself  at  the  service  of  the  world 
and  used  the  men  of  its  standing  army  to  do  a 
great  piece  of  work  for  humanity.  The  head  and 
front  of  the  enterprise  was  George  Washington 
Goethals,  an  engineer  with  the  rank  of  colonel  in 
the  army.  Associated  with  him  were  a  distin- 
guished group  of  men,  thus  characterized  by  Presi- 
dent Wilson  in  presenting  the  medal  of  the  National 
Geographic  Society  to  Colonel  Goethals :  "that  gal- 
lant and  devoted  soldier  who  gave  his  very  life  to 
see  that  the  great  work  was  done  at  Culebra  Cut ;  ^ 
that  man  who  made  so  much  of  this  work  possible, 

*  Lieut.  Colonel  David  DuB.  Gaillau,  who  died  Dec.  S, 
1913. 


94         THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF  THE   CHURCH 

Surgeon  General  Gorgas,  by  knowing  how  to  hold 
disease  off  at  arm's  length  while  these  men  were 
given  leave  to  work ;  Colonel  Seibert,  who  built  the 
walls  of  Gatun  Dam  and  created  Gatun  Lake,  mak- 
ing it  look  to  the  eyes  of  the  beholder  as  if  nature 
had  done  the  work  over  which  he  himself  presided ; 
and  Colonel  Hodges,  who  made  the  locks  and  the 
machinery  by  which  these  great  things  are  adminis- 
tered." These  men  and  the  other  army  and  navy 
officers  who  were  members  of  the  Isthmian  Canal 
Commission  drew  only  a  modest  salary  over  and 
above  their  army  and  navy  pay.  They  won  no  large 
financial  prize  and  they  asked  for  no  reward  for 
doing  their  duty,  but  they  carried  on  their  work 
with  high  enthusiasm  and  zest  and  the  world  has 
bestowed  upon  them  its  admiration  and  gratitude. 
Now  all  of  these  men  of  science,  of  art,  and  of 
some  of  the  professions  are  in  the  best  sense  com- 
peting, all  seek  eminence,  all  want  to  achieve,  and 
no  one  of  them  would  resent  it  if  a  grateful  world 
enrolled  his  name  among  the  immortals;  but  they 
compete  for  the  first  place  after  the  manner  of 
Jesus,  they  become  great  only  as  they  are  of  service. 
Money  may  come  to  them  in  time  and  often  does, 
but  money  is  not  the  incentive  which  holds  them 
to  their  task.  The  fact  is,  that  among  real  men, 
that  service  is  best  which  is  freest  from  the  money 
incentive.  The  rapid  advance  of  preventive  medi- 
cine in  the  present  decade  is  due  largely  to  army 
surgeons,  to  the  physicians  who  belong  to  the  great 
"institutes"  and  ''foundations,"  and  to  those  en- 


HOW  TO  CHRISTIANIZE  A  COMPETITIVE  WORLD        95 

gaged  in  various  terms  of  public  health  service. 
These  men  whose  financial  gain  is  far  smaller  than 
that  of  the  successful  general  practitioner  or  spe- 
cialist in  surgery,  give  their  entire  time  and  energy 
to  investigation  and  research  while  the  men  en- 
gaged in  private  practice  are  under  somewhat  the 
same  temptations  as  the  business  man. 

Our  little,  underpaid  standing  army  performs  its 
most  efficient  service  in  time  of  earthquake  or  flood 
or  pestilence.  With  this  standing  army  we  must 
think  of  the  police,  the  teachers,  and  all  faithful 
servants  of  the  public  paid  from  public  funds.  To 
it  before  many  years  will  be  added,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  writer,  the  vast  majority  of  physicians  and 
surgeons,  and  for  the  very  reason  that  greater  effi- 
ciency will  be  secured  by  freeing  medical  men  from 
the  money  incentive.  Also  health  is  a  public  asset 
of  the  same  kind  as  education  and  police  protec- 
tion. Not  only  will  the  fight  against  disease  be 
more  successful  but  more  just  when  physicians 
serve  disinterestedly  and  without  thought  of  private 
advantage.  Under  the  present  order  the  worker 
often  dies  and  the  non-producer  is  kept  alive,  be- 
cause the  one  can  buy  the  medical  attention  which 
the  other  lacks.  Some  physicians  will  always  be 
found  for  private  practice,  as  there  are  private 
schools  and  private  detectives,  but  the  great  busi- 
ness of  sanitation  and  health  is  a  state  affair  and 
will  be  more  efficiently  handled  when  the  medical 
men  are  paid  out  of  the  public  funds  and  so  become 
public  servants  like  teachers  and  soldiers.    The  sub- 


96         THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

stitution  of  this  spirit  of  social  service  for  the 
money  incentive  makes  for  efficiency  and  fidelity. 

Naturally  the  men  who  work  with  things  rather 
than  with  ideas  and  principles  and  personalities,  the 
men  of  industry  whose  work  appeals  least  to  the 
imagination,  are  slowest  to  respond  to  the  stand- 
ard of  Jesus,  but  it  isn't  their  fault  so  much  as 
the  fault  of  all  of  us.  The  greatness  of  a  business 
man  we  still  reckon  on  his  ability  to  make  divi- 
dends. The  phrase  "business  is  business,"  now 
less  heard  than  formerly,  bears  witness  to  the  fact 
that  business  has  been  classed  by  itself  and  that 
idealism  was  not  looked  for  in  the  field  of  business. 
Wealth  is  still  the  measure  of  success  in  commerce. 
He  is  counted  first  and  chiefest  in  the  business 
world  who  requires  most  figures  to  express  the 
amount  of  his  holdings.  So  the  business  man  plays 
for  a  different  stake  from  the  artist  or  physician 
or  social  worker,  because  his  rules  of  the  game  are 
different  from  theirs. 

Let  some  new  mechanical  contrivance  be  in- 
vented, some  new  article  of  commerce,  some  com- 
modity which  all  will  buy  because  it  is  a  conven- 
ience or  a  time-saver,  and  straightway  it  is  pat- 
ented and  someone  levies  on  the  whole  community 
and  assembles  a  fortune.  The  patent  laws  are 
among  the  unsocial  institutions  which  are  marked 
to  go  first.  By  reason  of  the  patent  one  man  gets 
control  of  some  commodity  which  everyone  needs, 
and  makes  the  consumer  pay  two  or  three  times  as 


HOW   TO   CHRISTIANIZE  A   COMPETITIVE  WORLD        97 

much  as  it  cost  to  produce — and  usually  it  is  not 
the  inventor  who  collects  the  tax.^ 

A  suggestion  of  what  we  may  expect,  when  we 
have  the  same  chivalry  in  business  as  in  science  and 
some  of  the  professions,  is  found  in  the  act  of  the 
Diamond  Match  Company  which  relinquished  its 
patent  on  sesquisulphide  and  allowed  its  competi- 
tors to  use  this  harmless  substitute  for  the  deadly 
phosphorus  in  making  matches.  It  is  a  sad  com- 
mentary on  the  slowness  with  which  business  has 
responded  to  the  new  social  ideals  that  only  two 
of  the  competitors  made  use  of  this  substitute, 
which  is  a  bit  more  expensive,  until  the  next  year 
when  Congress  to  save  the  workers  in  the  match 
industry  from  the  "phossy  jaw"  passed  a  law 
against  the  use  of  phosphorous.  However,  we 
must  bear  in  mind  that  the  business  man  has  been 
put  under  pressure  to  forget  everything  for  profit's 

*A  new  moral  standard  and  a  new  idealism  in  dealing 
with  inventors  was  set  by  the  Eastman  Kodak  Company 
in  the  summer  of  this  year,  1914.  Henry  J.  Gaisman  dis- 
covered how  to  sign  and  date  a  film  at  the  time  the 
picture  is  taken.  He  is  reported  to  have  said  that  he 
would  have  taken  $10,000  for  his  work,  and  have  "jumped 
at"  $50,000.  Mr.  Eastman  paid  him  $300,000.  First,  Mr. 
Eastman  fixed  an  adequate  salary  for  the  four  years 
during  which  the  inventor  had  worked  on  his  device,  and 
that  amount  was  doubled.  Then  the  cost  of  the  laboratory 
was  agreed  upon,  and  the  amount  doubled.  To  this  total 
enough  was  added  to  make  $300,000,  not  on  the  basis 
of  what  the  device  cost  the  inventor,  but  of  its  value  in 
expected  profits  to  the  company.  This  marks  a  new  era 
for  inventors  and  for  business  ethics. 


98         THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

sake,  under  temptation  to  exploit  his  employees  and 
to  extract  more  from  the  community  than  he  puts 
back,  for  we  have  estimated  his  success  by  the 
money  he  has  made.  He  must  now  be  put  under 
an  equal  pressure  to  serve  the  community. 

How  may  this  be  done?  First,  by  pointing  out 
to  the  business  man  that  all  service,  all  disinterested 
striving,  has  a  religious  meaning  and  value,  and 
second,  by  applying  to  him  the  Christian  standard 
of  greatness.  Where  business  is  honestly  organized 
with  a  fair  field  to  all,  service  now  is  fundamental 
to  success,  but  success  itself  has  been  measured  not 
on  the  basis  of  service  rendered  but  of  profit  re- 
turned. The  same  measure  of  success,  the  same 
basis  of  achievement,  must  apply  to  business  as  to 
other  forms  of  human  endeavor.  The  business 
man  must  be  tested  by  the  same  standards  as  the 
teacher,  the  minister  and  the  welfare  worker.  Men 
must  be  taught  that  business  is  a  means  of  social 
service  and  be  denied  the  reputation  of  true  success 
unless  they  are  performing  a  service  to  all.  Then 
an  industry  will  be  pointed  to  with  pride  not  be- 
cause it  pays  the  biggest  dividends  but  because  it 
contributes  to  the  city's  welfare.  Then  the  question, 
''How  much  is  a  man  worth?"  will  mean  "How 
much  is  he  worth  to  the  community?"  or  "How 
much  is  he  worthy  of  his  wealth?"  Then  he  will 
be  accounted  great  and  successful  on  the  basis  of 
the  love  and  gratitude  which  he  has  won  for  service 
rendered,  and  on  no  other. 

Change  the  rules  of  the  game  and  the  game  will 


HOW   TO  CHRISTIANIZE  A   COMPETITIVE   WORLD        99 

be  changed.  Men  will  still  compete  to  be  first,  but 
for  a  new  stake,  and  business  will  become  Chris- 
tian. The  evil  of  business  grows  out  of  the  meas- 
ure of  achievement  which  the  Christian  community- 
has  applied.  The  business  man  has  the  power  to 
accumulate  wealth  rapidly  and  to  amass  a  great 
fortune,  and  this  is  his  constant  peril.  He  is  ren- 
dering service  which  the  community  cannot  do 
without  and  has  a  right  to  collect  toll  for  his  ser- 
vices. But  the  ambition  to  get  rich  quick,  to  be 
decorated  by  his  fellows  with  the  badge  of  success, 
leads  him  to  increase  the  toll  which  he  exacts  until 
business  may  become,  and  in  some  cases  has  be- 
come, a  form  of  piracy. 

This  raises  a  question  which  no  one  as  yet  is  pre- 
pared to  answer :  how  much  toll  is  the  business  man 
entitled  to  for  the  service  he  renders?  I  suppose 
it  is  a  principle  of  business  that  a  thing  is  worth 
as  much  as  it  will  bring,  that  a  man  has  a  right  to 
charge  for  his  services  as  much  as  the  traffic  will 
bear,  dependent  upon  the  law  of  supply  and  de- 
mand. But  one  sees  at  once  to  what  abuses  this 
may  lead.  A  man  or  group  of  men  may  control 
the  market  or  control  patent  rights  and  so  levy 
heavily  upon  the  consumer.  Or  competition  may 
be  so  open  and  keen  that  one  business  enterprise 
will  bring  a  much  smaller  return  for  services  ren- 
dered than  some  other  business  which  costs  no 
more  in  effort  and  thought  and  patience.  The 
law  of  supply  and  demand  is  not  sufficient  when 


lOO      THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

that  law  can  be  manipulated.  So  then,  what  is  a 
thing  worth  to  the  community? 

From  the  standpoint  of  society,  an  article  is 
worth  what  it  costs  to  manufacture  and  distribute, 
plus  a  reasonable  return  to  the  man  who  makes 
and  to  the  man  who  distributes.  As  to  what  that 
reasonable  return  is  no  one  can  say  with  definite- 
ness.  There  is  no  consensus  of  opinion  or  legis- 
lative judgment  as  to  the  profit  which  is  just  and 
fair  for  the  manufacturer  or  the  trader.  The 
profit  which  comes  to  the  lender  of  money  is  in 
many  states  fixed  at  six  per  cent.,  but  money-lend- 
ing does  not  cost  as  much  labor  or  perform  as 
much  service  as  manufacturing  and  merchandis- 
ing. Hence  the  manufacturer  and  the  merchant 
deserve  a  larger  return  for  services  rendered. 
What  that  fair  and  reasonable  return  is  has  not 
been  fixed,  but  above  the  fair  return  for  their 
time  and  brains,  all  excess  dividends  represent  that 
much  more  taken  out  of  the  community  than  is  put 
back.  When  the  fair  return  for  services  rendered 
by  men  of  business  has  been  decided  upon,  as  the 
legal  rate  at  which  money  may  be  loaned  has  been 
fixed  by  the  state,  then  all  excess  dividends  should 
be  returned  to  the  community  in  a  larger  wage  and 
a  cheaper  product,  of  course  with  great  care  not 
to  disturb  the  prosperity  of  business. 

Business  now  rests  upon  social  service.  Only 
apply  the  standard  of  Jesus  and  measure  a  man's 
success  by  the  amount  of  service  rendered  and  not 
by  the  amount  of  dividends  wrung  out  of  the  busi- 


HOW  TO  CHRISTIANIZE  A   COMPETITIVE  WORLD      lOI 

ness,  and  we  will  have  in  business  one  of  the  finest 
expressions  of  the  Christian  idea. 

Already  business  enterprises  have  in  them  much 
that  touches  the  imagination  if  one  brings  to  them 
his  religious  sense.  Take  for  example  the  shoe 
business.  Yonder  are  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand 
hills,  yonder  the  deep,  silent  forests,  yonder  the 
mountains  filled  with  ore,  and  here  are  feet  to  be 
shod.  The  maker  of  shoes,  with  the  skin  of  the 
beasts,  and  the  bark  from  the  forests,  and  the  ma- 
chine of  iron,  produces  a  covering  for  the  human 
foot  that  protects  it  from  thorns  and  stones.  Yon- 
der is  the  coal  in  the  mountain,  the  stored-up  light 
and  heat  of  the  sun,  and  here  are  folk  to  be 
warmed.  Man  digs  the  coal  and  hauls  it  to  the 
city  and  dumps  it  into  the  cellar,  and  winter  be- 
comes as  summer  and  the  night  as  day.  Not  only 
does  the  man  in  business  supply  the  needs  of  the 
hungry  and  the  cold  and  the  ill-clad,  but  in  sup- 
plying those  needs  he  furnishes  means  of  employ- 
ment and  opportunities  for  livelihood  to  hundreds 
of  men  and  women,  thus  rendering  a  double  ser- 
vice. Going  and  coming,  buying  and  selling,  every 
dollar  turned  over  may  be  a  means  of  service.  The 
man  of  business  knows  the  joy  of  the  creator,  he 
is  a  savior  of  the  waste  of  life  and  a  redeemer 
from  human  misery  and  want.  He  has  a  chance 
to  be  the  greatest  among  us  for,  if  he  will,  he  may 
say  with  Jesus,  "I  am  in  the  midst  of  you  as  he 
that  serveth." 

Progress  is  being  made  toward  this  end,  though 


102      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

slowly.  The  old  stakes  for  which  men  have  played, 
the  old  prizes  for  which  they  have  competed,  are 
being  tested  and  weighed  and  are  not  so  enticing 
as  once  they  were.  The  life  of  many  a  rich  man 
is  tragic,  and  even  the  family  for  whom  he  piled 
up  his  wealth  is  often  torn  asunder  by  it.^  Gen- 
uine love  and  gratitude  are  seldom  his  portion.  It 
no  longer  needs  an  inspired  Teacher  to  convince 
men  that  they  may  gain  the  world  and  lose  their 
life,  and  that  the  world  at  such  a  cost  profiteth 
nothing.  So  attention  is  shifting  from  what  men 
can  get  out  of  life  and  keep  for  themselves  to  what 
they  can  put  into  it  of  permanent  value,  and  rich 
men  are  disposing  of  their  wealth  in  libraries  and 
art  collections  and  institutes  and  foundations  for 
the  benefit  of  humanity.  A  few  years  ago  the  rep- 
resentative man  was  the  man  who  had  begun  a 
poor  boy  and  ended  a  millionaire.  Now  a  new 
type  of  hero  is  set  up.  The  "interesting  people"  of 
the  popular  magazine  are  those  who  have  done 
something  worth  while  for  the  community; 
whether  they  are  rich  or  poor  is  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference, but  they  must  have  been  of  service.  The 
idealism  reflected  in  this  new  type  of  hero  prizes 
money,  which  is  stored-up  personal  energy,  not  as 
a  means  of  luxury,  but  of  service. 

Already  it  has  been  pointed  out  that  many  busi- 
ness men  engaged  in  what  were  once  thought  pri- 

*See  a  striking  chapter  on  "The  Tragedy  of  Dives"  in 
Prof.  Rauschenbusch's  "Christianizing  the  Social  Order." 
p.  291. 


HOW  TO  CHRISTIANIZE  A  COMPETITIVE  WORLD     IO3 

vate  undertakings  are  now  looking  upon  their 
business  as  a  form  of  public  service.^  Real  pride 
IS  taken  in  the  way  their  business  is  conducted 
and  in  the  profit-sharing  or  welfare  plans  which 
are  now  in  operation.  Prizes  in  what  may  be  called 
industrial  humaneness  are  being  competed  for,  and 
companies  are  vying  with  one  another  in  the  matter 
of  sanitation  and  safety,  the  contentment  and  good 
will  of  their  operatives,  as  well  as  efficiency.  All 
this  may  be  set  down  to  intelligent  self-interest, 
but  there  is  in  most  cases  a  large  element  of  gen- 
erous appreciation  of  the  workers'  faithfulness 
and  of  their  needs.  A  larger  factor  than  either 
is  the  desire  of  most  men  to  have  the  gooa  will 
of  those  who  work  with  them  and  the  good  opin- 
ion of  their  fellow-men.  Social  restraint  and  in- 
telligent self-interest  are  working  together  to  elim- 
inate the  wrongs  of  industry.^  The  irresistible 
force  of  the  social  conscience  makes  it  possible  to 
apply  the  standards  of  Jesus  whenever  we  will. 

Another  generation  will  see  the  worst  of  the 
struggle  for  the  control  of  capital  well  finished. 
That  does  not  mean  that  the  millennium  will  have 
come.  The  forces  which  are  making  To-morrow 
are  so  charged  with  social  feeling  that  we  may  say 
with  confidence  that  the  men  who  really  belong 
to  the  next  generation  will  desire  wealth  because  it 

^Page  40. 

'The  fact  that  intelHgent  self-interest  always  leads  to 
some  social  good  is  the  strongest  evidence  that  this  uni- 
verse is  organized  for  moral  ends. 


104      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

multiplies  their  personality  and  brings  added  pow- 
ers to  serve.  For  them  the  commercial  spirit  will 
have  been  socialized.  With  equal  confidence  we 
may  say  that  greed  will  not  be  abolished.  "In  all 
the  centuries  lust  has  not  been  abolished,  nor  an- 
ger, nor  hate,  nor  envy.  Yet  they  are  in  chains. 
It  is  not  visionary  to  assume  if  we  go  forward 
during  this  century  as  rapidly  toward  the  socializ- 
ing of  steam  as  we  went  during  the  last  century, 
that  we  may  put  the  man  who  issues  what  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  has  seen  fit  to  call 
'fictitious  capital,'  or  the  man  who  floats  bonds  not 
based  on  actual  valuation  of  property,  on  a  foot- 
ing with  a  man  who  violates  a  home  or  assaults  a 
woman.  We  may  put  the  man  who  manufactures 
impure  food  and  poisonous  drinks  in  the  same 
category  with  the  fence  and  the  gambler.  We  may 
give  the  trust  magnate  who  refuses  to  share  exor- 
bitant profits  with  his  employees  and  his  custom- 
ers a  social  status  with  the  burglar.  We  may  fet- 
ter greed  as  we  have  fettered  our  other  human 
vices."  ^ 

When  a  Christian  public  opinion  has  accepted 
the  standard  of  Jesus  and  decided  on  this  new 
stake,  when  men  in  business  understand  that  to 
be  counted  great  and  eminent  they  must  be  in  the 
fullest  sense  a  servant,  the  game  will  have  even 
keener  zest.  The  game  becomes  more  magnificent 
when  selfish  advantage  is  lost  sight  of  altogether, 
and  more  fascinating.     The  truly  great  souls  of 

*  William  Allen  White,  op.  cit.,  p.  251. 


HOW  TO  CHRISTIANIZE  A  COMPETITIVE  WORLD      I05 

history  were  indifferent  to  wealth  and  the  master 
minds  gave  themselves  to  art,  philosophy,  science, 
literature,  or  to  some  pursuit  where  self-interest 
was  not  the  end  in  view.  In  every  age  men  have  dared 
more  in  some  unselfish  endeavor,  and  have  suf- 
fered and  endured  more  in  some  great  enterprise 
for  mankind  than  ever  man  has  for  selfish  ends. 
The  highest  enthusiasm  and  initiative  and  courage 
of  the  past  were  shown  by  the  explorers,  the  scien- 
tists, the  artists,  the  missionaries  who  were  intent 
not  upon  winning  gold  but  upon  rendering  some 
service  to  humanity.  To  make  a  discovery  is  more 
interesting  than  to  make  an  invention;  to  unlock- 
a  secret  of  nature  for  which  mankind  will  be  the 
richer  is  a  more  satisfying  performance  than  to 
secure  a  patent  by  which  to  wrest  for  oneself  a 
fortune.  It  is  just  as  thrilling  to  invent  some  new 
piece  of  social  machinery  by  means  of  which  em- 
ployers can  get  along  more  happily  with  their  em- 
ployees as  it  is  to  invent  a  new  kind  of  locomotive, 
or  an  aeroplane.  It  is  just  as  exciting  to  compete 
with  other  men  in  putting  back  into  the  commun- 
ity, in  the  form  of  a  better  and  cheaper  product  or 
larger  wages,  more  in  proportion  to  the  capital  in- 
vested, as  it  is  to  compete  for  large  profits.  And 
that  game  is  Christian.  It  joins  one  with  Him  who 
was  the  greatest  among  us  because  the  servant  of 

all. 

Jesus  "went  about  doing  good."  His  body  was 
broken  and  His  blood  shed  for  humanity's  sake, 
and  the  heart  of  man  owns  Him  King.    Our  bod- 


I06      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

les,  too,  are  being  broken  and  our  blood  shed.  The 
mere  business  of  living  wastes  the  body  and  robs 
the  blood  of  its  warmth  and  strength.  Until  we 
pass  the  meridian  the  repair  more  than  balances 
the  waste;  then  the  waste  begins  to  overbalance 
the  repair.  But  all  the  time  our  body  is  being 
broken  and  our  blood  shed.  For  what?  To  what 
end  are  we  spending  our  magnificent  capital  of 
body  and  brain  and  spirit,  for  spend  it  we  must? 
Of  this  we  can  no  longer  deceive  ourselves: 
the  good  of  all  is  the  good  of  each.  To  deny  that 
is  to  deny  history,  to  deny  experience,  to  deny  our 
own  souls.  To  seek  selfish  ends  is  to  forfeit  the 
love  and  gratitude  of  men  and  to  lose  life.  To 
win  gratitude  and  love  is  to  earn  earth's  highest 
award.  To  be  truly  great  is  to  be  the  servant  of 
all.  To  make  some  contribution  to  the  common 
life  is  the  only  thing  worth  living  for.  For  this 
great  task  the  call  of  God  to  this  generation  is 
loud  and  clear. 


PART   II 

Th^  Church  at  th^  Parting  o^  the: 
Ways 

CHAPTER   I 

WHAT  THE  CHURCH  IS  FOR 

The  church  exists  mainly  for  instruction  in 
morals  and  religion  and  for  purposes  of  worship. 
The  Christian  church  combines  the  synagogue 
which  was  a  place  for  instruction  with  the  temple 
which  was  a  place  for  worship,  but  is  more  the 
successor  of  the  synagogue.  It  is  the  authorized 
teacher  of  morality  and  religion,  authorized  by  tra- 
dition and  by  special  equipment.  As  we  subsidize 
teachers  of  language  and  mathematics  and  science, 
men  and  women  who  give  their  whole  time  to  the 
study  of  these  subjects  and  their  teaching,  so  sub- 
sidized and  expert  teachers  are  needed  to  educate 
the  moral  sense  and  quicken  the  moral  tone  and 
deepen  the  religious  faith  of  the  people.  The 
church  stands  on  the  same  basis  as  the  college  and 
school.  Historically  it  has  preceded  the  school, 
for  the  religious  impulse  antedates  the  intellectual. 
Morality  is  fundamental  to  the  welfare  of  any 
107 


I08      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

community  and  it  is  righteousness,  not  culture, 
which  exalteth  the  nation. 

The  use  to  which  the  church  in  the  past  turned 
its  teaching  function  gives  rise  to  the  feeling  on 
the  part  of  many  thoughtful  persons  that  it  has 
no  great  purpose  in  the  life  of  to-day,  although 
the  demand  for  morality  is  more  insistent  than  in 
any  period  of  history.  In  the  middle  ages,  when 
the  church  had  great  temporal  power  and  domi- 
nated the  western  world,  the  instruction  it  gave  in 
morality  was  practically  negligible.  And  the  "re- 
ligious instruction"  given  by  the  church  concerned 
itself  mainly  with  dogmas  and  sacraments  and 
priest-made  plans  of  salvation  and  the  perform- 
ance of  church  rites.  The  Reformation  and  the 
Renaissance  liberated  the  more  original  minds 
from  such  a  notion,  but  the  average  Protestant 
view  was  still  that  religious  instruction  meant  in- 
struction in  theological  opinions  and  in  the  facts 
of  the  Bible.  These  medieval  ideas  hold  over  in 
many  minds  to-day.  Some  oppose  religious  in- 
struction in  the  public  schools  because  it  signifies 
to  them  sectarian  instruction.  Others  bemoan  the 
fact  that  our  public  school  teaching  is  unreligious 
because  the  facts  of  the  Bible  are  not  taught.  The 
High  Churchman  and  the  Roman  Catholic  estab- 
lish parochial  schools  for  "the  teaching  of  religion" 
which  is  no  other  than  instruction  in  sectarian  ten- 
ets and  in  the  particular  practices  of  their  church. 

If  this  notion  were  correct,  then  in  all  the  min- 
istry of  Jesus  he  gave  no  constructive  religious 


WHAT   THE   CHURCH   IS   FOR  IO9 

instruction.  What  he  said  about  the  Sabbath  and 
other  religious  institutions  was  drawn  from  Him 
by  His  enemies  and  was  in  criticism  of  the  ortho- 
dox teaching  of  His  day.  And  yet  Jesus  declared 
Himself  to  be  "the  way  and  the  truth  and  the  life." 
He  calmly  assumed  for  Himself  the  great  mission 
to  show  men  the  way  to  God,  to  bear  witness  to 
the  truth  and  to  make  known  what  is  real  life.  By 
His  own  claim  He  was  a  healer  and  restorer  of 
the  sick  and  lost,  but  His  supreme  claim  is  that  He 
was  a  teacher  of  religion  with  an  authority  greater 
than  that  of  the  Sanhedrin,  with  a  prestige  above 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  with  a  sanctity 
greater  than  the  Sabbath  or  the  Temple.  He  spoke 
with  an  authority  which  the  soul  of  man  recog- 
nizes, for  His  words  find  a  response  in  the  soul. 
And  the  function  of  the  church  He  founded  is 
that  of  a  healer  and  restorer,  but  supremely  that 
of  a  teacher  of  what  it  means  to  live  a  good  Ufe 
in  obedience  to  God's  will.  This  is  the  logical  or- 
der because  the  work  of  healer  and  restorer  is 
remedial ;  the  work  of  the  teacher  is  preventive. 

But  when  it  is  said  that  moral  and  religious  in- 
struction with  worship  are  the  main  purpose  of 
the  church,  it  must  be  clearly  understood  what 
such  instruction  embraces.  The  Roman  and  the 
Anglican  Catholic,  with  this  statement  of  the 
church's  function,  have  justified  the  autocratic  cleri- 
calism, the  exclusiveness,  the  intolerance  and  the 
religious  monopoly  which  have  been  the  curse  of 
the  church.     The  Roman  church  may  give  much 


no      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

valuable  moral  instruction  through  its  confessional, 
and  certainly  the  priest  has  here  a  tremendous  op- 
portunity and  one  that  comes  less  frequently  to 
the  Protestant  minister  because  confessions  to  him 
are  purely  voluntary  and  their  frequency  is  modi- 
fied by  his  personality  and  the  greater  self-reliance 
and  corresponding  secretiveness  of  the  Protestant 
mind.  But  the  Roman  Catholic  teaching  which 
reaches  the  outside  community  through  the  press, 
and  the  occasional  sermon  which  the  Protestant 
goes  to  hear,  can  be  called  religious  instruction 
only  in  the  narrowest  ecclesiastical  sense,  while 
public  instruction  in  morals  is  still  at  a  minimum. 
The  Romanist's  common  resort  for  religious  im- 
pression is  to  the  eye  and  the  senses  rather  than 
the  reason  and  the  conscience.  There  are  few  ser- 
mons and  these  few  deal  largely  with  the  dogmas 
of  the  church.  In  so  far  as  purely  ethical  ques- 
tions are  concerned,  in  so  far  as  a  clean,  moral, 
upright  life  is  concerned,  there  is  comparatively 
little  public  instruction,  and  then  mainly  on  the 
basis  that  thus-and-so  is  the  teaching  of  the  church, 
rather  than  that  Jesus  and  the  Bible  require  it,  or 
that  the  truth  is  self-evidencing  because  finding  its 
own  authority  in  the  heart  of  man.  Such  "reli- 
gious instruction"  has  no  remotest  resemblance  to 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  or  any  of  the  wayside 
teachings  of  Jesus,  or  His  irresistible  appeals  to 
human  experience — "if  I  say  truth  why  do  ye  not 
believe  me?" 

With  the  same  medieval  notion  of  religious  in- 


WHAT   THE  CHURCH    IS   FOR  III 

struction  many  high  churchmen  and  many  evan- 
gelical Protestants  have  set  themselves  against  the 
return  to  the  social  message  of  Jesus  which  has 
so  long  been  neglected.  Religious  instruction,  they 
maintain,  is  entirely  apart  from  the  social  and  in- 
dustrial and  political  problems  of  to-day,  and  even 
the  moral  instruction  of  the  church  must  deal  with 
personal  morality  rather  than  social  morality.  The 
new  social  activity  of  the  church  is  therefore  held 
to  be  at  the  most  only  incidental. 

A  second  error,  growing  out  of  the  opening 
statement  of  the  church's  purpose,  is  the  doctrine 
that  the  church  has  a  virtual  monopoly  of  religious 
instruction.  As  the  main  business  of  the  church  is 
to  teach  religion,  and  as  the  church  ought  to  be 
best  equipped  to  teach  it,  the  na'ive  or  sinister  con- 
clusion is  drawn  that  the  church  is  the  only  author- 
itative teacher  of  religion.  The  claim  to  monopoly 
in  religious  instruction  has  always  been  the  bul- 
wark of  ecclesiasticism.  So  strong  a  hold  did  this 
heresy  have  upon  the  Christian  mind  that  politi- 
cal democracy  arrived  in  Christendom  in  advance 
of  religious  democracy. 

For  a  true  understanding  of  the  church's  mission 
as  the  teacher  of  morals  and  religion  one  need  only 
turn  to  the  teaching  ministry  of  Jesus.  The  church 
has  for  its  task  to  teach  men  how  to  live  a  right 
life,  as  Jesus  did.  The  Christian  church  must  teach 
men  how  to  make  their  whole  life  Christian,  in 
correspondence  with  the  teaching  and  life  of  Jesus. 
Social   relationships,   and   industrial   relationships. 


112       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

and  CIVIC  relationships,  as  well  as  personal  relation- 
ships, are,  of  course,  included,  for  it  is  in  all  these 
relationships  that  man's  life  is  lived.  This  involves 
definite  instruction  with  regard  to  the  relation  of 
the  personal  life  to  the  complex  life  of  society. 
Nothing  is  foreign  to  moral  and  religious  instruc- 
tion which  has  to  do  with  those  moral  problems 
which  every  human  relationship  raises.  Moral 
and  religious  instruction  means  to  teach  men  how 
"to  do  justly  and  love  kindness  and  walk  humbly 
before  God"  in  all  the  ranges  of  their  life. 

Recognizing  that  the  church  can  have  no  mo- 
nopoly of  such  teaching,  and  rejecting  the  infalli- 
ble authority  of  the  church,  as  all  thoughtful  men 
must,  sincere  and  reverent  thinkers  not  a  few  ques- 
tion whether  the  church  should  continue  to  exist 
at  all.  The  outcome  of  the  whole  movement  of 
modern  thought,  it  is  said,  is  to  show  that  the 
church  knows  nothing  about  God  which  anyone 
may  not  know  who  has  a  simple  trust  that  there  is 
goodness  at  the  root  of  things,  and  that  the  whole 
foundation  of  this  trust  is  the  ethical  conscious- 
ness which  belongs  to  all.  But  while  our  knowl- 
edge of  God  is  based  on  our  ethical  consciousness 
it  is  not  limited  by  our  individual  consciousness. 
If  we  are  to  have  any  large  and  adequate  knowl- 
edge of  God  then  to  our  own  experience  must  be 
added  the  experience  of  the  race,  and  especially 
the  experience  of  those  men  who  lived  nearest  to 
the  center  of  reality.  This  unique  sense  of  reality 
possessed  by  the  master  spirits  of  all  ages,  the  seers 


WHAT  THE   CHURCH   IS  FOR  II3 

and  sages  and  prophets  and  holy  men  of  God,  is 
what  we  call  their  ''inspiration."  Hence  the  Bible, 
and  all  bibles  of  all  peoples  who  sought  to  know 
God,  philosophy  which  is  the  quest  for  God,  history 
which  is  a  record  of  experience,  and  all  the  great 
literature  of  the  Spirit,  are  the  materials  from 
which  the  knowledge  of  God  is  to  be  arrived  at. 

Certainly  the  church  knows  nothing  about  God 
which  anyone  may  not  know  who  has  spiritual  dis- 
cernment and  makes  use  of  the  sources  of  infor- 
mation. But  the  church  has  a  trained  teaching 
force  of  the  common  knowledge  of  God  and  of 
human  duty,  just  as  the  college  has  a  trained  teach- 
ing force  of  the  knowledge  which  is  accessible  to 
all  in  the  libraries.  The  college  knows  nothing 
which  anyone  may  not  know  who  has  the  thirst 
and  capacity  for  knowledge,  the  wisdom  of  the 
ages  is  common  property,  but  scholars  who  are  freed 
from  the  necessity  of  earning  their  bread  by  man- 
ual labor,  which  would  distract  them  from  study 
and  teaching,  are  needed  to  impart  that  knowledge 
and  train  men  in  wisdom.  There  is  exactly  the 
same  justification  for  the  church  as  for  the  college. 
The  teaching  function  of  the  church  is  as  real  and 
fundamental  as  the  function  of  the  home  and  the  ' 
school  and  the  state  and  the  hospital,  each  in  its 
own  sphere. 

Yet  it  is  true  that  many  consider  the  church  of 
less  importance  than  the  school  and  the  hospital. 
In  his  Lowell  lectures  Professor  Royce  points  out 
the  changed  situation  in  which  the  church  finds  it- 


114       THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF   THE   CHURCH 

self  to-day.  Religious  institutions  were  formerly 
^'supported  by  the  whole  social  power  of  the  peo- 
ples concerned,"  but  to-day  "stand  in  a  much  less 
central  position  in  our  organized  social  life."  ^ 
''Had  all  the  temples  of  a  typical  ancient  city,  and 
had  all  its  priests  and  sacred  places  been  suddenly 
destroyed,  so  that  none  of  the  customary  festivals 
and  sacrifices  could  be  carried  on,  we  know  how 
tragically  the  whole  life  of  the  city  would  have 
been  disturbed,  if  not  wholly  paralyzed."  Now 
on  the  contrary,  "ii  all  churches  and  priesthoods 
and  congregations  were  temporarily  to  suspend 
their  public  functions  and  their  visible  doings,  our 
market-places  and  factories  and  merchants  and 
armies  would  continue  to  go  on,  for  the  time,  much 
as  usual."  This  contrast  is  indisputable,  mainly 
because  religion  was  then  more  a  matter  of  exter- 
nals, while  now  it  is  understood  to  be  an  affair  of 
the  spirit,  and  yet  the  statement  would  not  be  cor- 
rect without  the  qualification  that  the  suspension 
be  temporary.  Without  religious  institutions  the 
state  of  religion  and  morals  would  not  for  long 
remain  the  same.  The  spirit  needs  cultivation  as 
well  as  the  intellect,  and  the  absence  of  the  church, 
like  the  absence  of  the  college,  would  soon  be 
registered  in  the  effect  on  the  whole  life  of  the 
community. 

The  intellectual  activity  of  our  adult  population 
might  be  kept  up  for  a  generation  by  the  press, 
the  theater,  the  library  and  the  discipline  of  busi- 

*  The  Problem  of  Christianity,"  Vol.  i,  pp.  390,  391. 


WHAT   THE   CHURCH    IS   FOR  II5 

ness.    But  the  intellectual  life  of  the  people  would 
not  be  put  forward  without  the  school  and  college 
and  university.     So  the  moral  and  religious  tone 
of  the  nation  might  be  maintained  for  a  while  with- 
out the  church.     The  religious  appeal  is  made  in 
current  literature,  in  the  magazine,  in  the  political 
speech  and  in  the  newspaper.     All  men  who  are 
getting  a  hearing  to-day  are  preaching.     Even  in 
the  yellow   journal   a  new   type  of   editorial   has 
sprung  up,  a  preaching  editorial,  perhaps  to  offset 
the  display  of  vice  and  vulgarity  in  the  other  col- 
umns, for  man  has  a  strong  instinctive  moral  sense. 
Men  like  the  sound  of  the  moral  note.    Therefore 
the  yellow  journal  editorial  discusses  ethics,  phi- 
losophy, literature  and  religion.     It  treats  of  the 
moral  issues  raised  in  politics  and  the  industrial 
order.     And  that  saves  the  journal.     But  for  this 
saving  salt  men  wouldn't  buy.    This  new  editorial 
is  the  only  moral  and  intellectual  stimulus  for  mil- 
lions of  readers.     The  editor  is  the  "shop  girls' 
Addison";  the  penny  paper  is  the  workingman's 
Bible. 

Such  fugitive  moral  teaching  is  not  enough.  The 
cause  of  morality  and  religion  would  not  long  hold 
its  own  without  a  body  of  well-equipped  and  sym- 
pathetic teachers  of  morality  and  a  religious  or- 
ganization through  which  they  may  make  their 
teaching  effective.  Even  Renan  said,  "Our  chil- 
dren have  been  brought  up  under  the  influence  and 
in  the  shadow  of  Christianity,  but  how  will  it  be 
with  our  grandchildren  who  must  inherit  only  the 


Il6      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

shadow  of  a  shadow  and  that  very  dim?"  The 
shop-girl  and  the  workingman  are  dealing  with  big 
primitive  problems — hunger  and  cold,  decency  and 
self-respect — and  they  need  a  less  commercialized 
moral  teacher  than  the  newspaper.  Those  who 
have  the  ears  of  the  people  to-day  admit  that  they 
are  not  equipped  for  this  task.  Civilization  rests 
ultimately  on  morality,  and  yet  the  conditions  under 
which  many  have  to  live  these  days  tend  to  weaken 
the  moral  fiber.  Poverty  on  which  Jesus  pro- 
nounced blessing  has  become  a  curse,  for  the  poor 
to-day  are  crowded  into  city  tenements  where  pri- 
vacy is  impossible  and  where  family  traditions  and 
sacred  home  associations  are  almost  out  of  the 
question.  Prosperity  has  its  perils,  too.  With  the 
wide  spread  of  wealth  goes  almost  inevitable  lux- 
ury. Luxury  is  the  love  of  softness  and  always 
brings  with  it  flabbiness  of  physical  and  mental 
and  moral  fiber.  Our  present  social  order  and 
economic  system  have  placed  in  the  hands  of  men 
new  and  mighty  weapons,  our  modern  industrial 
organization  has  let  loose  stupendous  forces,  all  of 
which  may  become  engines  of  injustice  unless  con- 
trolled by  religion.  The  goal  to  which  the  rapidly 
changing  life  of  to-day  is  moving  depends  on  the 
moral  teacher. 

Now  the  preacher,  as  a  student  of  the  Bible  and 
literature  and  an  interpreter  of  life,  is  set  for 
^'teaching,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruc- 
tion which  is  in  righteousness."  The  strongest  of 
men  need  all  the  help  they  can  get  right  here.    It 


WHAT   THE   CHURCH    IS   FOR  II7 

IS  very  easy  to  become  lax  and  indulgent  in  the  re- 
quirements one  makes  of  himself.  It  is  very  easy 
to  let  one's  standards  sag,  to  lose  one's  ideals. 
What  real  men  want,  when  they  think  of  it,  is  to 
have  their  minds  stirred,  their  opinions  jostled, 
their  complacency  disturbed.  Their  convictions 
may  be  conscientiously  held  but  they  are  usually 
formed  under  the  pressure  of  self-interest,  and 
they  need  to  be  trued  up  by  the  teachings  of  Jesus. 
The  only  way  to  make  progress  in  morality  is  to 
hold  oneself  resolutely  in  the  presence  of  the  best 
ethical  teaching. 

Whatever  else  may  be  said  of  the  church  and 
its  services,  the  things  that  men  are  led  to  think  of 
at  church  are  the  things  that  are  honorable  and 
just  and  pure  and  lovely  and  of  good  report. 
There  are  those  to  whom  the  church's  teachings 
are  not  interesting,  but  that  criticism  cuts  both 
ways.  It  may  be  that  the  minister  has  little  to  say, 
or  it  may  be  that  some  persons  are  not  interested 
in  the  kind  of  life  which  the  church  holds  up  as  an 
ideal.  One  can  quite  understand  that  persons  who 
are  determined  not  to  practice  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  are  not  keen  over  hearing  it,  and  that  those 
who  disregard  the  Golden  Rule  on  week  days  are 
not  made  comfortable  by  having  it  sounded  in  their 
ears  on  Sunday.  The  moral  instruction  of  the 
church  is  little  sought  by  those  whose  conduct  is 
decided  by  personal  advantage  modified  and  limited 
only  by  the  commonly  accepted  ethics  of  their  class 


Il8      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

and  by  the  popular  standards  of  their  trade.  They 
who  ask  not  "What  judgment  will  Christ  pass  on 
my  life?"  but  "How  does  my  life  square  with  the 
practice  of  my  kind  ?"  will  naturally  have  no  inter- 
est in  the  church.  But  whether  interested  or  unin- 
terested, the  task  of  the  church  is  to  take  to  every 
man  the  whole  teaching  of  Jesus. 

The  second  great  function  of  the  church  is  to 
create  the  mystical  or  spiritual  sense  and  to  pro- 
vide for  its  expression  in  worship.  What  differen- 
tiates the  human  from  the  brute  is  the  sixth  sense, 
the  sense  by  which  we  apprehend  what  we  cannot 
see,  nor  hear,  nor  feel,  nor  taste,  nor  smell.  It  is 
this  spiritual  faculty  that  gives  to  human  life  what- 
ever fineness  it  possesses,  and  worship  and  prayer 
are  the  main  resources  for  cultivating  the  mystic 
sense. 

Certain  acts  of  worship  can  be  performed  in 
solitude;  the  devout  soul  can  find  God  anywhere. 
But  there  is  a  deep  and  native  need  in  the  soul  for 
comradeship  in  worship.  With  the  birth  of  social 
feeling  men  began  to  combine  for  the  rites  of  wor- 
ship, first  as  families  and  then  as  tribes.  On  the 
hilltop,  in  the  groves,  and  by  the  rivers  men  came 
together  to  worship  their  gods.  Sympathy  for  our 
fellow-men  and  fellowship  with  God  cannot  be 
separated  without  hurt  to  both.  As  we  hft  our 
hearts  to  our  Father  we  reach  our  hand  to  find  the 
hand  of  our  brother.  Social  worship  meets  a  na- 
tive and  genuine  need  of  the  soul. 


WHAT   THE  CHURCH    IS   FOR  II9 

"Oh,  sweeter  than  the  marriage  feast, 

'Tis  sweeter  far  to  me, 
To  walk  together  to  the  kirk 

With  a  goodly  company; 
To  walk  together  to  the  kirk. 

And  all  together  pray, 
While  each  to  his  great  Father  bends. 
Old  men,  and  babes,  and  loving  friends, 

And  youths  and  maidens  gay."* 

Whatever  the  present  age  lacks  in  reverence  and 
spiritual  fineness  is  largely  due  to  the  neglect  of 
public  worship.  Many  talk  easily  of  worship  with- 
out comprehending  what  it  means.  They  stay 
from  the  church  which  is  appointed  for  worship 
and  give  as  a  reason  that  they  go  out  into  the  open 
to  worship  in  God's  first  temples.  Now  I  suppose 
that  no  one  loves  the  out-of-doors  more  than  I  do. 
Something  speaks  to  me  from  the  woods  and 
mountains  and  fields.  A  beautiful  landscape  stirs 
me.  My  spirit  finds  something  to  respond  to  un- 
der the  open  sky.  But  I  recognize  that  the  body 
finds  more  stimuli  in  the  open  than  the  spirit.  It 
is  my  blood  that  courses  deliciously  through  my 
veins  in  response  to  exercise,  it  is  to  my  lungs  that 
the  air  is  sweet,  it  is  the  senses  of  smell  and  sight 
and  hearing  which  are  most  appealed  to.  It  is  to 
the  body  mainly  that  the  out-of-doors  ministers, 
which  is  well,  for  the  body  is  as  sacred  as  the 
spirit.  But  the  body  must  not  get  it  all.  Sunday 
is  the  day  in  which  to  restore  the  lost  balance  of 

*"The  Ancient  Mariner,"  Coleridge. 


120      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

life.  As  the  spirit  gets  least  during  the  week  the 
spirit  should  be  our  chief  care  on  Sunday.  And  to 
preserve  the  balance  between  body  and  spirit  we 
must  resolutely  give  part  of  our  Sundays  to  spirit- 
ual culture. 

Many  have  eliminated  from  church  attendance 
the  idea  of  worship.  A  minister  in  Chicago  recently 
sent  out  a  letter  to  a  selected  number  of  men,  ask- 
ing this  question,  "Why  is  the  modern  man  so  loath 
to  form  church-going  habits?"  In  the  forty-five 
letters  received  in  reply  the  idea  of  worship  was 
referred  to  but  once  and  then  to  say  that  it  had 
very  little  influence  in  deciding  the  matter.  One 
man  naively  said,  "I  go  to  church,  to  concert,  to 
lecture,  to  drama  to  increase  my  stock  of  knowl- 
edge or  confirm  what  I  have  accumulated."  Re- 
cently a  splendid  young  fellow  said  to  me,  mean- 
ing to  be  fair,  that  he  wanted  the  minister  to  be  at 
least  his  equal  intellectually,  and  if  possible  his 
superior,  or  he  wouldn't  go  to  hear  him. 

What  does  all  this  mean?  That  the  church  has 
become  secularized  in  the  eyes  of  the  average  man, 
which  remark  at  once  requires  a  definition.  Some 
hold  to  the  notion  that  to  discuss  in  the  pulpit  the 
practical  problems  with  which  men  have  to  grap- 
ple in  their  everyday  life  is  to  secularize  the  church. 
On  the  contrary  the  old  Hebrew  preachers  dis- 
cussed poverty  and  wealth,  just  balances,  usury, 
boundary  lines,  and  politics,  and  it  was  the  Proph- 
ets who  made  the  religion  of  Israel.  It  isn't  the 
themes  discussed  which  secularize  the  church,  if 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH   IS  FOR  121 

the  purpose  is  to  learn  the  mind  of  God  concerning 
them.  The  church  is  secularized  when  one  goes  to 
its  services  expecting  to  meet  a  company  of  men 
and  women  under  the  same  conditions  that  they 
assemble  in  a  public  hall  to  hear  a  lecture,  and 
when  one  requires  the  minister  to  tell  him  some- 
thing new  and  original  and  of  highly  intellectual 
quality  on  the  pain  of  his  not  darkening  the  doors 
again.  He  secularizes  the  church  who  goes  to  it 
as  to  business  or  a  banquet  or  a  social  function,  for 
what  he  can  get  out  of  it. 

This  is  false  to  the  ideal  of  a  church  service. 
The  minister  should  not  be  the  chief  object  of  at- 
tention. The  church  is  greater  than  the  minister, 
and  the  church  is  great  only  because  human  beings 
gather  in  it  to  worship  God.  And  this  demand  on 
the  minister  is  not  fair  to  him.  Every  minister 
may  not  be  intellectually  the  equal  of  every  man  in 
the  congregation,  but  he  may  be  superior  in  moral 
sense.  There  is  doubtless  some  point  in  which  he 
is  superior  to  each  and  all  in  his  congregation,  as 
there  are  points  in  which  each  and  all  are  superior 
to  him.  Any  person  who  goes  to  church  to  wor- 
ship God  may  listen  with  great  profit  to  men  who, 
while  lacking  educational  advantages,  are  men  of 
large  faith,  simple  hearts  and  a  noble  and  unselfish 
outlook  on  life.  One  has  gotten  a  real  uplift  in 
some  remote  country  church  when  the  poorest  sort 
of  sermon  was  preached.  One  has  felt  the  touch 
of  God's  spirit  in  some  European  cathedral  when 
there  was  no  sermon  at  all,  and  when  he  could  not 


122      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

follow  the  Latin  which  was  chanted  and  when  the 
singing  was  doleful  and  unmusical.  And  the  man 
who  has  no  sense  of  awe  as  he  bends  in  prayer 
with  his  fellow  mortals  and  can  hear  nothing  but 
the  halting  voice  of  the  preacher  lacks  one  of 
the  precious  elements  of  human  life  and  needs  to 
cultivate  with  holy  perseverance  that  faculty  which 
links  the  human  spirit  with  God's. 

The  great  two-fold  purpose  of  the  church  re- 
quires a  much  bigger  program  than  has  been  sup- 
posed to  be  involved  in  moral  and  religious  instruc- 
tion and  public  worship.  The  moral  and  religious 
quality  of  our  life  depends  fundamentally  upon  our 
relation  to  our  fellows  and  the  service  we  render 
to  the  world  of  men;  love  for  men  and  disinter- 
ested service  is  the  only  available  evidence  of  love 
for  God.  The  instruction  which  the  church  gives 
must  therefore  aim  to  show  men  how  to  meet  the 
problems  raised  by  all  social  relationships.  It  is 
for  citizenship  in  this  world  that  men  must  be 
equipped  and  this  necessitates  training  in  effective 
social  service. 

The  parallel  between  the  church  and  college  still 
holds.  The  college  instructs  and  inspires  but  does 
not  undertake  as  an  institution  actually  to  grapple 
with  all  the  problems  with  which  it  deals.  There 
are  certain  activities,  like  a  settlement  in  the  slums, 
which  a  college  may  properly  undertake,  but  it 
would  forfeit  its  free  and  impartial  and  scientific 
position  if  it  should  commit  itself  to  any  economic 
or  social  or  political  program.     So  the  purpose  of 


WHAT  THE   CHURCH    IS   FOR  123 

the  church  is  to  inspire  men  to  right  action,  but 
the  church  itself  can  take  united  action  only  within 
certain  limits.  Such  action  as  some  reformers  de- 
mand of  the  church  would  be  foreign  to  its  whole 
purpose  and  mission. 

However,  to  accomplish  that  purpose  and  fulfill 
that  mission,  the  church  should  give  more  definite 
direction  and  more  explicit  training  to  those  who 
draw  their  inspiration  from  it.  Preaching  the  Gos- 
pel means  showing  what  the  Gospel  requires  in  our 
daily  living,  what  it  signifies  under  our  present  so- 
cial organization.  Teaching  men  religion  means 
teaching  them  how  to  be  religious  in  all  their  deal- 
ings with  other  men,  social,  political  and  industrial. 
And  just  as  modern  education  resorts  to  manual 
training  whenever  possible,  the  church  should  give 
"manual  training  in  altruism"  to  borrow  a  phrase 
of  Professor  Mathews.^  We  learn  by  doing,  but 
the  activities  of  the  church  to-day  are  too  few  and 
have  too  narrow  a  range  to  be  of  much  educational 
value  for  morality  and  religion.  Also  the  worship- 
ing faculty  which  is  very  undeveloped  in  many 
can  be  best  acquired  through  reverent  work.  The 
approach  to  God  with  which  they  are  most  familiar 
is  in  doing  His  will.  They  understand  what  it 
means  to  keep  Christ's  commandments  and  thus 
only  can  they  be  brought  into  fellowship  with  Him. 
So  that  both  in  performing  its  task  of  moral  and 
religious  instruction  and  in  training  men  to  wor- 
ship, the  church  will  have  to  be  more  explicit  in 
*  "Biblical  World,"  September,  1913. 


124      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

its  social  message  and  to  enlist  men  more  whole- 
heartedly and  effectively  in  the  great  business  of 
serving. 

And,  once  more,  to  the  extent  that  the  church's 
function  is  a  valuable  one  it  must  be  performed 
for  all.  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  church  to  serve 
the  whole  of  life  for  the  whole  population.  In  pub- 
lic education  compulsion  is  possible,  but  the  min- 
istry of  the  church  cannot  be  gotten  to  men  by 
law.  The  church  must  reach  by  its  appeal  and  by 
creating  the  sense  of  need.  How  can  this  be 
done? 

Men  are  not  to  be  interested  by  sounding  the 
same  sort  of  appeal  more  loudly  and  persistently. 
They  who  have  turned  from  church  religion  of  a 
particular  type  are  not  to  be  weaned  back  to  the 
same  thing.  If  a  man  does  not  like  a  certain  kind 
of  food  it  cannot  be  made  palatable  and  attractive 
by  thrusting  at  him  more  of  the  same  sort.  What 
appeal  can  we  make  to  the  non-churchgoer?  How 
can  we  arouse  his  interest  in  the  church?  How 
can  we  create  in  him  a  sense  of  need  of  the 
church's  moral  and  religious  instruction  and  a  love 
of  its  worship? 

Our  appeal  in  the  past  was  borrowed  from 
Moses,  **Come  with  us  and  we  will  do  thee  good," 
but  men  do  not  respond  to  that  appeal  these  days. 
The  modern  man  doesn't  like  to  be  done  good  to; 
he  resents  patronage.  A  real  man  wants  to  hew 
out  his  own  destiny,  and  be  at  charges  to  none. 


WHAT   THE  CHURCH   IS   FOR  125 

All  he  asks  is  a  chance  to  work  out  his  own  salva- 
tion, with  such  help  as  he  can  get  from  other  real 
men  who  are  working  out  their  salvation.  It  is 
not  enough  to  appeal  to  the  average  man  to  come 
to  church  to  be  instructed  religiously,  to  get  his 
soul  saved,  or  even  to  worship  God.  Men  are  not 
drawn  to  church  on  the  ground  that  it  will  be  of 
personal  advantage  to  them,  on  the  plea  that  they 
need  it.  They  have  remained  away  from  church 
and  think  they  are  not  much  the  worse  for  it.  If 
their  ideals  were  carefully  searched  and  their 
standards  tested  I  believe  no  progress  would  be 
shown,  and  no  progress  is  loss.  Nevertheless  they 
feel  they  are  getting  along  fairly  well  without  at- 
tending church.  That  is  the  condition  with  which 
we  have  to  deal. 

Find  what  one  manly  heart  responded  to  and  you 
will  have  the  key  to  all  manly  hearts.  And  you 
have  only  to  turn  back  to  that  spot  on  the  desert 
sands  where  originated  the  appeal  which  was  as 
futile  then  as  it  has  been  impotent  whenever  the 
church  has  sounded  it.  Moses  wished  to  hold  on 
to  his  brother-in-law  Hobab,  who  had  apparently 
acted  as  pilot  for  the  refugees  from  Egypt. 
"Come  thou  with  us  and  we  will  do  thee  good," 
said  the  Jew  patronizingly.  "I  will  not  go,"  said 
the  free-born,  self-reliant,  young  Bedouin,  "I  de- 
part to  mine  own  land,  and  to  my  kindred."  But 
Moses  shifted  his  plea,  saying,  "You  know  the  wil- 
derness as  we  do  not.    We  need  your  help.    Come 


126      THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

and  be  eyes  for  this  great  people."  And  Hobab 
said,  "I  go  with  you." 

The  honest  desire  of  most  men  is  to  be  of  use. 
Their  time  is  occupied  and  their  life  as  it  is  is  com- 
fortable and  agreeable.  It  is  as  difficult  to  get 
them  to  a  lecture  or  concert  which  would  be  in- 
structive and  helpful  as  it  is  to  get  them  to  church. 
It  is  not  enough,  therefore,  to  represent  to  them 
that  the  church  services  are  interesting  or  even 
profitable.  We  must  make  them  feel  that  the 
church  is  engaged  with  a  great  task  in  which  it 
needs  help.  Every  true  man  will  respond  to  a  call 
for  service.  The  more  heroic  it  is,  the  more  chiv- 
alry and  courage  it  requires,  the  more  imperious 
will  be  its  summons. 

This  is  the  appeal  that  will  win:  There  is  work 
to  be  done!  There  are  many  who  suffer,  many 
whose  life  is  a  burden,  who  are  losing  their  way 
and  falling  out  of  the  race !  The  church  here  and 
now  devotes  itself  to  their  relief!  We  need  your 
help!  Come  and  be  to  us  for  eyes  and  hands  and 
feet  and  brains!  You  have  something  to  invest 
in  this  great  venture!  You  have  strength  and 
courage  and  wisdom!  You  are  counted  a  success 
in  business!  We  need  your  power  of  initiative, 
your  efficiency,  your  daring !  For  the  task  to  which 
the  church  addresses  itself  with  real  passion  is  to 
make  every  land  holy  and  every  city  a  city  of  God. 
Is  anything  so  worth  while,  any  task  so  worthy  of 
your  time  and  strength?    You  can  go  back  to  your 


WHAT   THE  CHURCH    IS   FOR  I27 

own  people  if  you  will,  go  back  to  your  own  small 
world  and  be  comfortable.  But  great  business  is 
on!  Will  you  strike  hands  with  us?  Will  you 
help? 

No  real  man  will  say  "No"  to  that. 


CHAPTER  II 

WHERE  THE  CHURCH  FAILS 

History  is  rhythmic.  All  life  is  subject  to  the 
law  of  ebb  and  flow.  No  human  institution  makes 
uninterrupted  progress  or  sustains  itself  at  an  un- 
changing level.  And  to-day  the  churches  seem  to 
be  at  the  ebb.  But  *'to-day"  might  be  dated  19 14 
or  1814.  "Christianity  has  always  seemed  to  its 
contemporaries  a  failure,"  says  Coventry  Patmore. 
This  means  that  Christianity  is  a  religion  of  ideals, 
and  we  are  eternally  conscious  of  not  having 
reached  our  ideals. 

We  are  not  competent  to  judge  the  churches  of 
our  day,  because  things  need  the  perspective  of  his- 
tory to  be  seen  in  their  true  light.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  we  are  unable  to  do  the  church  of 
this  generation  full  justice.  And  one  other  fact 
needs  to  be  borne  in  mind:  where  the  churches 
have  been  long  established  it  is  not  easy  to  com- 
pute what  they  mean  to  the  community.  We  do 
not  recognize  the  part  played  by  the  church  in 
keeping  men  honest  and  clean  and  kind,  because 
its  presence  and  power  have  been  so  constant,  like 
gravitation.  It  was  the  first  institution  to  be 
planted  and  its  influence  has  always  been  exerting 
itself.    But  often  in  new  towns  of  the  West,  vice 

128 


WHERE  THE  CHURCH   FAILS  I29 

and  lust  and  crime  were  rampant  until  some  Chris- 
tian layman  or  minister  gathered  a  few  true  men 
together  and  organized  against  the  forces  of  evil 
and  planted  a  church. 

Even  in  New  England  we  have  decadent  vil- 
lages and  degenerate  country  settlements,  and  the 
explanation  of  their  moral  breakdown  is  the  neg- 
lected church.  In  the  spring  of  1904  a  New  York 
newspaper  made  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  condi- 
tion of  morals  in  a  certain  New  England  state.  It 
had  been  alleged  that  the  state  was  politically  cor- 
rupt and  that  its  votes  were  regularly  bought  and 
sold  at  every  election.  On  May  7,  it  published  this 
conclusion:  The  worst  towns  (some  of  them  with 
a  few  hundred  inhabitants)  where  bribery  was 
most  persistent,  where  illegal  liquor  selling  was 
most  rampant  and  where  immorality  was  most  fla- 
grant, were  those  towns  in  which  no  Christian  ser- 
vice was  regularly  held.  For  instance,  in  one  town 
known  as  "Darkest  Exeter"  there  were  twenty 
years  ago  six  churches ;  four  of  these  were  in  ruins 
at  the  time  the  investigation  was  made,  two  were 
occasionally  used,  but  there  was  no  resident  min- 
ister. The  result  was  a  town  in  the  heart  of  New 
England,  once  peopled  by  the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims, 
heir  to  all  the  noble  qualities  of  a  sturdy  race,  now 
degenerated  into  ''Darkest  Exeter,"  a  farming  town 
given  over  to  vice  and  immorality.  This  is  close- 
at-hand  evidence  taken  from  a  section  of  the  coun- 
try which  was  formerly  the  home  of  intelligence, 
cleanliness,  thrift  and  piety. 


130       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF   THE   CHURCH 

The  power  of  the  church  is  unnoticed  in  its  pres- 
ence. But  when  the  church  is  closed  in  village  or 
town,  and  there  is  no  longer  an  organized  stand 
against  the  lower  and  more  bestial  forces  of  life, 
they  surge  up  and  overwhelm  it.  The  community- 
value  of  the  church  can  be  questioned  only  by 
those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  facts.  Its  value 
ought  to  be  incalculable,  and  where  it  isn't  the  fault 
lies  with  those  who  make  up  and  direct  the  church 
and  not  with  the  idea  of  the  church.  The  consid- 
erations upon  which  the  doctrine  of  the  nature 
and  office  of  the  Christian  church  is  based,  says 
Professor  Royce,^  "have  to  do  with  interests  which 
all  reasonable  men,  whether  Christian  or  non- 
Christian,  more  or  less  clearly  recognize,  in  pro- 
portion as  men  advance  to  the  higher  stages  of  the 
art  of  life."  ''These  considerations  are  based  upon 
human  nature,"  and  the  idea  of  the  church  is 
''simply  and  impressively  human." 

But  the  working  out  of  the  church  idea  has  been 
attended  with  the  disasters  which  "attend  the  visi- 
ble embodiment  of  all  the  great  ideals  of  human- 
ity." 2  The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek,  for  it  lies  in 
the  very  human  nature  which  the  church  was  or- 
ganized to  redeem.  The  church  has  failed  to  sup- 
ply all  with  the  kind  of  moral  and  religious  instruc- 
tion which  are  needed  and  to  create  and  cultivate 
in  all  the  spirit  of  worship,  but  humanity  needs  to- 
day as  deeply  as  ever  to  be  taught  how  to  love  and 

*"The  Problem  of  Christianity,"  Vol.  i,  pp.  55,  56. 
'  Royce,  op.  cit.,  p.  56. 


WHERE  THE   CHURCH    FAILS  I3I 

worship  and  serve,  and  a  recognition  of  failure  is 
a  call  to  greater  wisdom  and  devotion  for  the 
church  on  the  part  of  every  man  of  good  will.  If 
the  church  is  not  doing  its  work  it  must  be  set  to 
doing  it,  for  the  work  must  be  done. 

What  is  the  situation  of  the  church  to-day?  It 
is  spoken  of  even  as  a  spent  force,  and  certainly 
it  is  not  so  conspicuously  the  moral  leader  to-day 
as  it  once  was.  Nothing  is  gained  by  blinking  the 
facts.  Frank  criticism  is  always  of  value;  con- 
structive criticism  is  needed  for  progress.  There 
has  always  been  too  much  unintelligent  criticism 
of  the  church  on  the  part  of  some,  and  too  much 
fervid  but  unintelligent  defense  on  the  part  of  oth- 
ers. The  facts  should  be  faced  as  fully  and  fairly 
as  we  are  able.  It  is  as  false  to  lull  people's  ears 
with  the  cry,  "Peace,  peace"  when  there  is  no  peace 
as  always  to  be  prophesying  disgrace  and  doom. 
Friendly  criticism  is  evidence  of  faith  in  our  power 
to  realize  our  ideals.  There  is  no  point  in  criticiz- 
ing the  church  unless  we  believe  it  has  possibilities 
of  a  magnificent  ministry  which  have  not  yet  been 
realized.  When  we  know  things  at  their  worst 
we  will  make  a  downright  effort  to  right  them. 

The  statistical  showing  of  the  churches  is  not  so 
good  as  formerly,  but  that  cuts  little  figure  one 
way  or  another.  The  church  is  not  to  be  measured 
by  the  number  of  its  nominal  adherents.  The  great 
movements  of  Christianity  in  America  which  out- 
run the  churches  are  a  far  more  satisfactory  test 
of  the  church's   vitality  than   the   census   reports. 


132       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

However,  we  will  quote  statistics  for  what  they 
are  worth. 

Statistically  the  church  is  not  holding  its  own. 
Some  numerical  gain  is  made  by  various  denomi- 
nations, but  in  no  case  is  it  in  proportion  to  the 
increase  in  population.  "If  the  gain  of  the  church 
on  the  population  during  the  first  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  is  represented  by  80,"  says  Josiah 
Strong,  "during  the  last  half  it  is  represented  by 
20,  during  the  last  twenty  years  it  is  represented 
by  4,  and  during  the  last  ten  years  it  is  represented 
by  I."  Very  liberal  estimates  based  on  the  investi- 
gations of  the  church  statisticians  show  that  less 
than  30  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  of  Amer- 
ica may  be  called  regular  attendants  at  church,  that 
perhaps  20  per  cent,  are  irregular  attendants,  while 
fully  one-half  never  attend  any  church  at  all,  Prot- 
estant or  Romanist.  The  movement  away  from  the 
churches  is  of  course  most  noticeable  in  cities.  In 
London  it  is  estimated  that  only  6  per  cent,  of  the 
people  attend  church,  while  in  the  suburbs  the  per- 
centage is  29.  Probably  the  same  percentages  hold 
true  of  New  York,  though  church  attendance  in 
England  and  America  is  on  different  bases. 
There,  those  who  attend  do  so  almost  invariably, 
and  those  who  do  not  attend  never  go ;  here,  more 
attend  on  special  occasions,  but  a  very  small  num- 
ber attend  with  the  regularity  of  the  English 
churchgoer. 

Christ  would  draw  all  men  to  himself,  and  so  to 
God.    His  church  must  overtake  the  growing  popu- 


WHERE  THE   CHURCH   FAILS  133 

lation.  It  IS  put  here  to  seek  and  to  save  even 
when  but  one  out  of  a  hundred  is  lost.  That  pro- 
portion has  never  been  realized  in  Christendom. 
If  the  church  were  the  fold,  the  present  proportion 
of  those  within  and  without  would  be  alarming. 
In  the  United  States  only  13  4-5  per  cent,  of  the 
population  are  claimed  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  and  24  per  cent,  by  the  Protestant  Church- 
es, while  60  per  cent,  have  no  church  connection 
whatever.  From  this  60  per  cent.,  however, 
should  be  subtracted  a  large  number  of  adherents 
of  whom  no  estimate  can  be  made,  and  the  many 
children  who  belong  to  Christian  families  and  are 
on  the  way  to  church  membership.  But  the  more 
sturdy  one's  faith  in  the  church  the  more  he  feels 
that  it  ought  to  be  ministering  to  the  whole  people. 
Of  all  the  concerns  of  the  people  morality  comes 
first,  and  the  church  is  set  for  instruction  in  right- 
eousness. The  passion  of  our  Lord  sets  for  the 
church  no  less  a  standard  than  to  bring  all  men  to 
a  knowledge  of  God. 

Turn  from  statistics  to  the  tendencies  and  move- 
ments in  the  church  which  signify  much  more.  In 
the  large  cities  the  church  is  in  full  retreat  from 
the  points  of  difficulty.  The  downtown  church  is 
moving  out  to  the  suburban  district.  Down  in  the 
city  the  fight  for  existence  is  too  hard,  and  many 
church  people  aren't  enough  interested  in  the 
church  to  fight  for  it.  They  have  fighting  enough 
during  the  week;  on  Sunday  they  want  peace  and 
quiet,   soothing  music  and  comforting  preaching. 


134       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

Down  yonder  the  church  was  surrounded  by  busi- 
ness houses  and  it  stood  there  in  the  midst  of  the 
strife  for  gain  as  a  testimony  to  truth  and  duty 
and  immortality,  a  call  to  God  and  love  and  fair 
dealing.  But  the  city  washed  up  around  it  and 
piled  huge  office  buildings  on  every  side.  Then 
when  the  property  became  immensely  Valuable, 
property  on  which  taxes  were  never  paid,  it  was 
sold  for  business  purposes,  and  instead  of  staying 
down  town  to  serve  the  city  which  made  the  church 
rich,  this  unearned  increment,  or  better,  community 
earned  increment,  was  used  to  build  a  luxurious 
temple   in   another   community. 

This  retreat  of  the  churches  is  not  because  there 
are  few  left  to  work  among.  The  old  substantial 
church  members  may  have  moved  out,  but  other 
people  have  moved  in.  In  one  section  of  New 
York  40  churches  have  moved  out  and  100,000 
more  people  have  moved  in,  foreigners,  maybe,  but 
they  are  children  of  God  and  the  care  of  the 
churches.  The  church  which  sends  a  few  brave 
men  and  women  as  missionaries  to  foreign  shores 
flees  from  the  presence  of  foreigners  on  our  own 
shores.  Down  there  are  the  boarding  houses  and 
apartments  and  tenements  full  of  people.  Down 
there  are  saloons  and  dance  halls  and  brothels, 
where  God  is  forgot.  The  church  moves  away 
and  makes  its  nest  in  the  peaceful  quiet  suburbs 
where  it  is  needed  certainly,  but  not  so  deeply  as 
in  the  thick  of  the  city's  life. 

Even  in  the  suburbs  and  smaller  cities  the  church 


WHERE  THE   CHURCH   FAILS  135 

IS  only  marking  time.  In  some  places  it  is  actually 
losing  ground.^  Among  regular  churchgoers  the 
church  has  first  place  in  the  lives  of  but  few.  Its 
loose  hold  upon  its  own  is  shown  when  people 
move  from  one  city  to  another.  Frequently  they 
drop  out  altogether  and  are  lost  to  the  church. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  church  members  bring 
to  an  end  all  connection  with  church  life  when  they 
move  to  the  cities.  But  even  in  the  home  church 
there  is  a  growing  tendency  toward  irregular  at- 
tendance. A  few  years  ago  fair  congregations 
were  expected  on  pleasant  Sundays  and  indifferent 
congregations  on  stormy  Sundays.  "Fair  weather 
Christians'*  was  a  nickname  much  used  in  the  last 
decade.  Now  the  situation  is  almost  reversed;  on 
stormy  Sundays  we  have  fair  congregations,  but 
when  the  weather  is  pleasant  many  of  our  most 
prominent  people  are  absent  from  their  places.  All 
this  means  that  the  interests  of  recreation,  in  which 
I  for  one  strongly  believe,  have  taken  precedence 
in  the  minds  of  many  church  members  of  the  in- 

*In  the  splendid  Presbyterian  denomination  to  which 
the  writer  belongs,  i,ooo  churches,  reported  no  additions 
by  confession  in  1912.  Other  churches  which  made  some 
additions  suffered  a  net  loss  through  death  and  transfer. 
The  whole  church  added  to  its  membership  on  confession 
of  faith  during  the  year  79,432  members.  But  there  are 
40,000  Elders  in  the  church  which  means  less  than  two  new 
members  for  each  Elder.  There  are  9,000  ministers,  which 
means  less  than  nine  new  members  for  each  minister. 
An  army  of  49,000  ministers  and  Elders  has  to  show  but 
79,432  new  recruits  to  the  church  in  a  whole  year. 


136       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

terests  of  the  higher  life  so  far  as  they  are  minis- 
tered to  by  the  church. 

But  most  significant  is  the  vast  number  of  people 
in  whose  lives  the  church  has  no  place  at  all. 
There  are  many  for  whom  the  church  simply  does 
not  exist.  They  think  of  the  church,  if  they  think 
of  it  at  all,  as  remote  from  the  city  that  throbs 
around  it,  and  out  of  touch  with  the  problems  with 
which  men  have  to  deal  in  their  everyday  lives. 
Many  Socialists  and  workingmen  are  outspoken  in 
their  protest  against  the  unrelatedness  of  the 
church  to  this  earth  life,  and  violent  in  their  re- 
sentment that  the  organized  spirit  of  Jesus  does 
not  seem  to  function  in  the  life  of  the  city.  But 
many  who  do  not  condemn  simply  ignore  the 
church.  They  never  cross  its  threshold  and  do  not 
reckon  it  into  their  estimate  of  life.  So  far  as 
they  are  concerned  the  church  does  not  exist  any 
more  than  the  Historical  Society  or  the  Society  for 
Psychical  Research.  They  are  not  hostile  to  it,  but 
it  does  not  come  within  the  range  of  their  experi- 
ence.   The  other  day  in  New  York  I  passed 

Church,  on  one  of  the  west  side  streets  in  the  mid- 
channel  of  the  human  tides  that  flow  up  through 
New  York  from  the  Battery.  A  huge  sign  hung 
over  the  church  announcing  "Everybody  Wel- 
come." I  asked  myself  how  many  of  the  thousands 
of  people  who  pass  by  that  church  and  under  that 
sign  ever  see  it,  and  upon  how  many  does  it  make 
sufficient  impression  for  them  to  remember  that 
the  church  is  there?      This    is    a    fair    question. 


WHERE  THE  CHURCH   FAILS  137 

Whatever  has  interest  and  value  to  us  will  produce 
some  reaction  in  the  state  of  consciousness  when 
brought  to  our  attention.  When  we  pass  a  beauti- 
ful woman  or  a  deformed  man  or  a  shoeless  child, 
certain  nerve  centers  are  actively  stimulated.  A 
runaway  horse,  a  careening  fire  engine,  a  mad  dog, 
causes  an  explosion  of  nerve  cells.  The  reaction  is 
proportionate  to  the  interest  awakened,  but  we  al- 
ways react  when  an  outside  stimulus  comes  over 
the  threshold  of  consciousness.  Passing  a  library, 
a  school,  a  hotel,  a  favorite  haberdasher's,  there  is 
a  distinct  reaction  dependent  on  the  interest  to  us 
which  each  represents.  If  a  person  has  no  interest 
for  us,  and  a  building  has  no  place  in  our  thought 
and  experience,  they  do  not  get  within  the  thresh- 
old of  our  consciousness,  no  matter  how  frequently 
we  pass  them. 

Now  the  church  is  symbolized  by  the  church 
building,  and  if  we  could  know  just  what  takes 
place  in  a  man's  nervous  system  when  he  passes 
a  church  edifice,  if  we  could  diagram  the  reaction 
in  his  state  of  consciousness,  we  would  have  ex- 
actly the  place  of  the  church  in  his  experience. 
From  all  the  data  available  and  from  questioning 
many  who  are  not  unfriendly  to  the  church,  I  am 
of  the  opinion  that  this  three-feet-wide  church  an- 
nouncement that  all  are  welcome  doesn't  make  as 
much  impression  on  the  average  passer-by  as  the 
bushel  of  potatoes  in  front  of  the  grocer's  store  at 
the  corner.  When  the  folk  of  that  neighborhood 
want  potatoes  they  remember  the  grocery.     But 


138       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

when  they  are  lonely  or  sick  or  sorrowing,  when 
they  suffer  for  their  sin,  or  are  in  any  trouble 
where  human  sympathy  is  needed,  the  facts  do  not 
show  that  the  people  of  the  block  have  any  remem- 
brance of  the  church  two  doors  from  the  grocery. 

The  most  serious  fact  is  that  many  of  the  folk 
of  the  city  do  not  think  of  the  church  as  existing 
for  them,  as  having  anything  to  meet  their  need 
in  trouble  or  grief.  They  know  what  the  grocery 
store  is  there  for,  but  not  what  the  church  and  the 
minister  are  there  for.  The  minister  may  be  break- 
ing his  heart  with  care  for  the  souls  about  him,  and 
his  soul  is  wrung  because  he  cannot  serve  those 
who  live  under  the  shadow  of  his  church,  but  the 
people  do  not  know  it  and  do  not  realize  that  the 
church  has  anything  that  they  need.  The  church 
does  not  come  within  the  field  of  their  conscious- 
ness ;  they  do  not  reckon  it  into  their  thought  of  the 
city  and  the  neighborhood  and  their  struggle  for 
life  and  decency.  If  they  think  of  it  at  all  it  is  to 
think  of  it  as  existing  in  a  different  realm  from 
the  place  where  they  live  and  aspire  and  suffer  and 
die. 

In  this  large  number  who  now  pass  the  church 
by  are  those  who  heard  Jesus  gladly.  The  poor 
and  the  toilers  are  farthest  removed  from  the 
churches  to-day.  In  England,  according  to  Charles 
Booth,  a  careful  observer,  the  attitude  of  the  work- 
shop to  the  church  is  ''contemptuous."  In  Amer- 
ica the  non-churchgoing  class  is  made  up  for  the 
most   part    of    factory    workers    and    immigrants. 


WHERE  THE   CHURCH    FAILS  139 

Many  working  people  are  in  the  churches,  but  these 
are  chiefly  unorganized  working  people  such  as 
you  find  in  the  store  and  in  the  small  towns,  and 
engaged  in  specialized  occupations  where  trade 
unions  are  impossible.  The  overwhelming  major- 
ity of  men  in  labor  organizations  are  out  of  touch 
with  the  churches.^ 

And  finally  it  is  the  masculine  mind  which  is  less 
bound  by  convention  that  is  in  frankest  revolt 
against  the  church.  There  are  three  million  fewer 
men  and*  boys  in  the  churches  of  America  than 
there  are  women  and  girls.  It  is  the  men  who 
make  the  moral  tone  of  the  industrial  and  political 
world  and  who  most  feel  the  moral  strain  of  mod- 
ern competition.  And  yet  the  male  membership 
of  the  Protestant  churches  in  this  country  make  up 
only  18.7  per  cent,  of  the  male  population,  while 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  church  the  male  member- 
ship, including  baptized  children,  is  13.2  per  cent, 
of  the  male  population. 

Where  the  church  has  most  failed  to  realize  its 
purpose  is  in  the  large  city.  The  trying-out  place 
of  religion  is  the  city.  Here  life  is  at  its  intensest. 
Here  man  deals  directly  and  almost  solely  with 
man,  for  nature  is  reduced  to  subjection  by  the 
city,  and  all  human  relations  raise  moral  questions. 
The  city  is  the  ganglion  of  the  world's  unrest.  It 
paints  large  the  social  inequalities  of  the  day,  the 
industrial  maladjustment,  the  contrasts  of  riches 
and  poverty.     This  has  given  rise  to  the  impres- 

*  See  Part  I,  Chapter  3. 


140      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

sion  that  the  city  is  not  congenial  soil  for  religion, 
and  that  the  big  centers  of  population  are  inevit- 
ably the  last  to  respond  to  the  religious  appeal.  I 
think  the  facts  are  otherwise.  The  great  variety 
of  interests  which  the  city  offers,  and  the  unre- 
lenting demand  of  city  activities  leave  smaller 
place  for  the  grosser  forms  of  temptation  than 
the  less  occupied  rural  life.  City  minds  may  be 
beaten  hard  by  much  traffic  like  city  streets,  but 
things  pass  over  them  more  quickly.  The  city 
goes  about  its  own  business  with  apparent  indif- 
ference, but  its  heart  is  not  bad. 

The  city  is  strategic.  Cities  are  destined  to  be- 
come bigger  and  bigger.  The  population  which 
can  find  employment  in  the  country  is  limited ;  only 
certain  forms  of  occupation  are  supplied  by  the 
farm  and  the  country  village.  But  the  city  with 
its  increasing  variety  of  industries  can  furnish 
employment  for  a  practically  unlimited  population. 
The  growth  of  cities  will  be  modified  only  by  the 
relation  of  the  birth  rate  to  the  death  rate.  Cities 
are  running  over  into  the  country  and  giving  to 
country  life  the  characteristics  of  city  life.  Cities 
will  more  and  more  dominate  the  country.  The 
city  is  therefore  strategic.  Here  it  is  that  religion 
is  put  to  the  test  and  also  has  its  greatest  oppor- 
tunity. 

It  was  only  for  prudential  reasons  that  Jesus 
turned  from  the  city  to  the  towns  and  country. 
He  realized  the  significance  of  the  centers  of  popu- 
lation and  seats  of  government,  and  he  began  at 


WHERE  THE   CHURCH   FAILS  I4I 

Jesusalem,  as  His  disciples  were  later  bidden  to 
do.^  But  He  was  embarrassed  by  His  urban  popu- 
larity, and  for  the  safeguarding  of  His  total  work 
He  withdrew  to  the  country.  When  the  time  had 
come,  the  Man  of  Galilee  went  down  and  joined 
issue  with  Jerusalem.  Here  He  made  His  great 
stand  and  here  He  was  done  to  death. 

But  the  church  which  claims  to  be  the  organized 
spirit  of  Jesus  is  not  joining  issue  with  the  cities. 
It  is  beating  retreat  from  the  points  of  danger. 
The  stampede  of  churches  from  the  congested 
parts  of  the  city  would  be  a  dismal  fact  to  contem- 
plate but  for  this  other  fact:  the  men  who  touch 
the  life  of  the  city  most  potently  live  in  the  sub- 
urbs, and  there  are  within  reach  of  the  church. 
Suburban  churches  are  practically  city  churches. 
And  the  church  which  in  the  future  will  bear  most 
heavily  upon  the  city  is  the  church  in  the  suburbs 
whose  men  are  men  of  large  affairs  and  have  in 
their  keeping  the  well-being  of  a  big  part  of  the 
city  population. 

Nevertheless  the  city  is  under-churched  while 
the  village  and  town  are  over-churched.  The  city 
is  suffering  from  neglect  and  the  religious  forces 
of  Christendom  must  combine  for  a  more  intelli- 
gent and  persistent  and  statesmanlike  handling  of 
the  city  problem.  First  of  all  the  church  must  get 
into  the  field  of  consciousness  of  the  city  popula- 

*I  follow  John's  chronological  order,  which  on  every 
count  seems  to  me  historical,  whatever  may  be  said  of  the 
discourses. 


142       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

tion.  It  must  get  into  the  same  world  with  the 
man  who  lives  in  the  tenement  and  the  apartment. 
It  must  get  within  reach  of  his  experience.  Until 
then  the  church  is  of  no  use  to  the  city.  Of  course 
the  grocer  has  an  immense  advantage.  When  one 
is  hungry  he  knows  that  he  needs  bread  and  pota- 
toes, l^he  needs  which  the  grocer  supplies  are 
pressing  and  immediate.  But  there  is  in  the  heart 
of  man  a  need  of  religion,  too,  though  we  may 
have  to  interpret  it.  When  he  is  lonely  he  knows 
he  needs  companionship;  when  he  has  suffered  he 
needs  comfort;  when  he  has  sinned  he  needs  the 
assurance  of  forgiveness,  and  he  needs  faith.  The 
church  must  not  only  be  ready  to  supply  those 
needs  but  must  make  the  people  in  the  block  feel 
that  this  is  what  it  is  there  for.  In  the  large  city 
there  is  no  present  demand  for  the  church.  It  will 
have  to  be  created.  And  we  can  create  a  demand 
for  the  church  when  we  so  reconstruct  it  that  it 
will  supply  the  religious  needs  of  all  the  people. 
The  church  must  take  the  initiative.  We  may 
throw  the  responsibility  all  upon  the  people,  but 
the  condition  would  remain  unchanged.  Our  in- 
terest is  not  to  fix  the  blame  for  the  situation,  but 
to  change  it.  The  church  has  a  mission.  We  are 
pledged  to  seek  until  we  find.  We  cannot  leave 
folk  to  their  own  initiative.  We  must  make  a 
place  for  the  church  in  the  Hfe  of  the  city.  We 
must  make  it  minister  to  the  city.  We  must  make 
of  it  an  agency  with  which  people  will  reckon.    We 


WHERE   THE    CHURCH    FAILS  I43 

must  by  some  means  get  into  the  city's  field  of 
consciousness. 

Now  the  city  is  being  successfully  coped  with 
by  other  agencies  at  work  within  its  walls.  As 
cities  grow,  the  questions  of  housing  the  people, 
of  food  supply,  and  of  transportation  become  in- 
creasingly difficult,  but  they  are  being  confidently 
grappled  with.  The  schools  and  the  amusement 
venders  meet  the  situation.  The  theatrical  man  is 
not  aghast  over  the  apartment  house,  nor  the  mer- 
chant in  despair  over  the  shifting  population.  The 
politician  gets  his  appeal  to  the  voters  and  the 
voters  to  the  polls.  The  city  problem  is  handled 
now.  And  the  church  can  solve  it,  too,  if  we  give 
the  same  sort  of  thought  to  the  problem. 

The  failure  of  the  church  has  been  stated  with 
utter  frankness  and  with  no  attempt  to  gloss  it 
over,  because  one  is  not  afraid  of  the  facts.  I  am 
so  sure  of  the  church  that  I  believe  all  that  is 
needed  is  for  us  to  realize  the  situation  which 
confronts  it  and  we  will  rise  and  meet  it.  "The 
beginning  of  inquiry  is  disease,"  said  Bacon.  Thus 
stimulated  by  the  sense  that  something  is  wrong, 
and  having  discovered  where  the  trouble  lies,  we 
who  love  the  church  will  take  up  its  problems  one 
by  one  and  find  a  solution.  There  is  a  solution. 
The  biggest  and  most  heroic  enterprises  of  the 
church  are  just  ahead  of  it. 


CHAPTER  III 

WHY  THE  CHURCH  HAS  BEEN  HALTED 

The  first  and  most  obvious  reason  for  this  fail- 
ure of  the  church  to  realize  its  great  purpose  and 
to  touch  all  the  life  of  to-day  is  that  churches  for 
the  most  part  lack  a  program  which  is  constructed 
to  meet  the  needs  of  their  several  communities.  In 
this  unrelatedness  to  present  conditions  the  church 
is  not  unique.  Even  in  business  the  use  of  brains 
is  modern.  Much  business  to-day  is  done  hap- 
hazard and  at  random.  The  ''cost  method"  for 
example,  the  only  up-to-date  method  of  conducting 
business,  is  in  operation  in  but  few  establishments. 
A  captain  of  industry  said  to  the  writer  that  he 
recommended  the  cost  method  to  a  friend  whose 
business  was  always  in  a  precarious  condition,'  and 
urged  that  he  could  know  each  month  just  where 
he  stood.  ''Good  heavens!"  was  the  reply,  "it's 
bad  enough  to  know  once  a  year  how  poorly  I  am 
doing!" 

Chambers  of  Commerce  have  only  recently  been 
dealing  with  their  problems  in  a  scientific  manner. 
Almost  any  sort  of  industry  was  formerly  encour- 
aged to  come  to  a  city  without  regard  to  the  in- 
dustries already  there.  Now  a  few  Chambers  are 
relating  industries,  and  seek  to  group  together  those 

144 


WHY  THE   CHURCH    HAS   BEEN    HALTED        145 

industries  which  depend  upon  and  supplement  one 
another  and  are  most  likely  to  furnish  steady  em- 
ployment for  all  available  workers.  Our  municipal 
machinery,  too,  is  antiquated  and  expensive  and 
inefficient.  The  American  church  is  as  up-to-date 
as  the  average  American  city  government. 

And  yet  I  think  it  is  not  unfair  to  say  that  many 
churches  are  drifting  along  without  any  definite 
plan.  There  are  some  of  us  ministers  who  do  not 
know  just  what  goal  we  are  aiming  at,  and  cer- 
tainly many  church  people  who  have  no  clear  idea 
of  what  they  ought  to  bring  to  pass  in  the  com- 
munity. There  are  certain  meetings  to  attend,  but 
few  are  sure  as  to  their  purpose.  It  has  never 
occurred  to  the  minds  of  some  church  people  that 
the  church  must  be  subjected  to  the  efficiency  test. 
Indefiniteness  is  the  cause  of  church  failure  as  well 
as  of  business  failure. 

The  program  that  is  in  use  was  inherited.  For 
fifty  years  or  more  it  has  gone  on  with  little  change. 
The  forms  of  public  worship  and  of  parish  activi- 
ties remain  largely  unadjusted  to  present  condi- 
tions. One  great  church,  the  Roman  Catholic, 
conducts  its  services  in  a  foreign  tongue  unfamiliar 
to  the  worshipers.  And  the  worship  of  Protestant 
churches  is  usually  not  in  the  language  of  the  peo- 
ple. Our  hymns  are  nearly  all  hymns  of  medita- 
tion and  there  are  few  hymns  of  action.  Our 
sermons  hold  to  a  conventional  pattern  and  are 
frequently  couched  in  terms  that  have  an  unfa- 
miliar sound.     Our  themes  have  too  little  to  do 


146      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

with  the  problems  which  men  must  meet  daily.  To 
a  great  many  persons  who  are  non-churchgoers 
and  are  unused  to  the  phraseology  of  the  pulpit,  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that,  should  they  drop  in  at 
some  churches,  the  whole  service  would  seem  so 
unlike  anything  they  are  accustomed  to  as  to  be 
of  no  interest  to  them  whatever.  To  arouse  in- 
terest one  must  find  men  where  they  are;  to  teach 
any  truth  one  must  build  on  experience. 

The  maladjustment  of  the  church  to  its  environ- 
ment is  most  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  fact  that 
the  church  in  the  city  conducts  its  public  worship 
and  parish  activities  after  the  pattern  of  the  coun- 
try church.  Most  of  our  city  churches  are  trying 
to  meet  town  conditions  with  an  "elaborated  coun- 
try church  program."  A  city  church  could  be 
moved  to  some  village  and  pursue  its  work  almost 
without  change;  and  a  village  church  could  be 
transported  bodily  to  the  city  and  continue  to  do 
business  just  as  it  did  in  the  country  town.  But 
imagine  a  department  store  being  run  on  the  lines 
of  the  general  merchandise  store  at  the  cross- 
roads! The  church  has  just  begun  to  realize  that 
the  religious  problem  of  the  city  is  as  different 
from  the  religious  problem  of  the  country  as  the 
problem  of  housing  the  people  and  of  lighting  and 
water  and  transportation  in  the  city  differs  from 
that  in  the  country.  The  city  church  needs  a  city 
program.  The  sermon  is  the  chief  literary  produc- 
tion of  the  week  in  many  a  country  community, 
and  the  prayer-meeting  is  the  most  important  so- 


WHY   THE   CHURCH    HAS   BEEN    HALTED        I47 

cial  gathering  in  many  a  small  village,  but  the  ser- 
mon and  the  prayer-meeting  alone  are  not  enough 
to  appeal  to  the  city-bred  non-churchgoer.  A  city 
program  is  required. 

I   have  said   that  the  city  does   not  know  the 
church  exists  for  it,  that  folks  in  trouble  do  not 
turn  to  the  church  because  they  do  not  think  of 
it  as  being  there  for  the  purpose  of  serving  and 
comforting  them.     To  go  deeper,   churches  have 
not  thought  of  themselves  as  existing  for  the  com- 
munity.   They  have  thought  of  themselves  as  exist- 
ing for  those  who  attend  church  and  not  for  the 
outsider.     That's  the  reason  why  the  church  tears 
down  the  old  building  in  a  ganglion  of  population 
and  builds  in  the  suburbs  where  the  churchgoers 
reside.      That's   the   reason   why   the   church   has 
never  seriously  grappled  with  the  city  problem,  why 
we  have  been  content  with  the  program  to  which 
we  have  been  accustomed  since  childhood,  why  we 
have  not  adopted  new  methods  to  meet  new  situa- 
tions.   "That  fact  is,"  says  one  ^  who  conducts  suc- 
cessful   workingmen's    services    in    London,    "the 
church  has  not,  as  a  rule,  laid  itself  out  to  attract 
and  win  men." 

Second,  the  church  is  deficient  in  its  method  of 
propaganda.  A  highly  organized  and  completely 
manned  evangelistic  campaign  is  our  last  thing 
for  propagandic  purposes.  These  campaigns  have 
as  a  rule  been  disappointing.     They  have  inspired 

*  Rev.   J     E.   Watts  Ditchfield,   quoted   in   "Christianity 
and  the  Working  Class,"  edited  by  Haw,  p.  24. 


148      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

great  hopes  that  cities  might  be  stirred  with  new 
religious  life,  but  the  result  has  often  been,  accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  pastors,  to  break  up  the 
habit  of  regular  church  attendance  and  to  be  an 
interruption  rather  than  a  help.  When  the  evan- 
gelists have  gone  they  have,  with  a  few  notable  ex- 
ceptions, left  church  people  disinclined  ever  to 
enter  upon  an  evangelistic  enterprise  again. 

In  some  cases  evangelistic  meetings  are  stimu- 
lating, but  they  seldom  reach  those  it  was  hoped 
they  would  reach.  The  prevailing  emphasis  is 
upon  personal  salvation,  as  it  must  be,  but  too  little 
is  said  of  social  redemption  or  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  There  has  recently  been  some  change  of 
method,  put  to  the  fore  by  the  Men  and  Religion 
Forward  Movement  of  191 1  and  1912,  but  the  usual 
method  still  is  to  deal  with  vice  rather  than  sin,  the 
petty  vices  of  individuals  rather  than  the  great  sins 
of  society.  Usually  a  whole  meeting  is  given  to 
amusement,  but  one  has  often  listened  in  vain  for 
some  deliverance  on  social  maladjustment  and  in- 
dustrial wrong.  This  is  not  always  because  the 
evangelist  does  not  realize  that  bigger  issues  are 
involved  in  modern  life  than  dancing  and  the  thea- 
ter, but  because  he  is  not  equipped  to  pronounce 
judgment  on  the  social  order.  Few  ministers  are. 
We  preach  mainly  on  personal  vices  and  the  minor 
moralities;  the  Hebrew  prophet  spoke  of  the  sins 
of  society — injustice,  extortion,  poverty  and  bribery. 
The  pulpit's  personal  message  has  a  fundamental 
value,  there  is  no  social  sin  or  redemption  that  is 


WHY   THE   CHURCH    HAS  BEEN    HALTED        I49 

not  centered  in  personal  relations,  and  the  Hebrew 
prophets  are  not  our  final  model,  but  nevertheless 
our  evangel  has  been  too  individualistic,  it  has 
dealt  too  little  with  the  more  complex  social  sins 
over  which  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men  are  baffled. 
It  is  certainly  wise  for  all  preachers  to  refrain  from 
pronouncements  on  problems  with  which  they  are 
not  familiar,  and  yet  we  cannot  expect  that  men 
will  trouble  themselves  to  know  what  our  Gospel 
has  to  say  until  they  feel  that  it  grapples  with  the 
whole  of  life. 

In  getting  its  message  to  the  people  the  church 
needs  to  employ  more  of  the  initiative,  the  intelli- 
gence and  the  persistence  of  the  Socialist  and  the 
welfare  worker.  The  comparatively  small  number 
of  men  in  the  Socialist  party  are  succeeding  in 
taking  their  propaganda  to  the  people  far  beyond 
the  great  organized  church.  True,  they  have  real 
opposition  to  meet,  and  we  only  indifference  which 
summons  us  less  loudly  to  action.  But  the  church, 
too,  is  seeking  a  reconstructed  society,  and  a  new 
earth.  The  idea  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  more 
captivating  than  that  of  the  Socialistic  state.  We 
have  a  bigger,  more  compelling  gospel  than  the 
Socialist  and  the  welfare  worker,  but  we  must 
learn  from  them  how  to  propagate  it.  We  must 
invent  new  machinery  for  distributing  our  goods, 
for  getting  our  message  to  the  people,  and  must 
put  into  our  Christian  propaganda  that  enthusi- 
asm and  intelligent  earnestness  which  everywhere 
bring  success. 


150      THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

And  third,  the  church  fails  for  want  of  virile 
leadership.  This  lack  is  most  obvious  in  the  min- 
istry. Young  men  who  are  qualified  for  the  minis- 
try and  would  be  expected  to  enter  it  are  turned 
aside  into  other  professions.  Many  men  leave  col- 
lege with  a  real  social  passion  and  with  the  feeling 
that  they  must  justify  themselves  for  the  privilege 
they  enjoy  by  making  some  contribution  to  social 
welfare.  There  are  not  a  few  whose  hearts  are 
flaming  with  the  chivalrous  desire  to  be  of  service. 
Wealth  does  not  allure  them,  they  have  a  fine  con- 
tempt for  idleness  and  softness,  social  prestige  does 
not  attract  them,  the  usual  road  to  political  prefer- 
ment is  repulsive  to  them,  and  commercial  life 
presents  to  many  of  them  a  rather  dull  and  unin- 
teresting aspect.  They  yearn  for  some  such  op- 
portunity for  service  as  the  ministry  ought  to  of- 
fer, but  they  do  not  seek  the  ministry.  They  do 
not  even  take  the  ministry  into  account  as  a  possi- 
ble life-work,  and  should  they  enter  the  ministry 
it  would  be  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  the  majority 
of  parents. 

Many  reasons  might  be  cited,  but  the  one  which 
is  pertinent  to  this  discussion  is  this :  the  church  is 
not  militant.  It  does  not  seem  to  offer  the  oppor- 
tunity for  manly  service  which  young  men  desire. 
The  fact  is  highly  significant  that  while  candidates 
for  the  ministry  are  few,  hundreds  of  students  are 
volunteering  for  the  mission  field  because  of  its 
more  heroic  call.  The  most  militant  thing  about 
the  church  at  home  is  the  phraseology  it  uses.    The 


WHY   THE   CHURCH    HAS   BEEN    HALTED        I5I 

church  does  not  match  its  own  announcement  of 
itself  as  an  "army  marching  on  to  war."  A  very 
shrewd  observer  has  described  the  church  as  an 
army  whose  best  tactics  are  the  tactics  of  retreat. 
But  whether  the  church  is  marching  or  counter- 
marching, it  is  time  for  it  to  join  battle.  It  does 
not  now  appeal  to  the  heroic  and  chivalric  in  young 
men  looking  for  a  life  work.  Men  who  want  to 
undertake  the  very  things  the  church  ought  to  be 
engaged  with  do  not  enter  the  church. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  ministry  is  more  attrac- 
tive to-day,  and  presents  a  greater  opportunity  for 
moral  leadership,  than  in  earlier  days  when  most 
Christian  parents  wanted  at  least  one  of  their  sons 
to  enter  the  church  and  when  many  young  men 
sought  admission  to  its  ministry.  At  the  very  out- 
set a  young  man  of  parts  has  a  better  chance  in 
the  ministry  than  in  any  other  profession.  Many 
churches  seek  men  because  of  their  youth,  while 
clients  and  patients  avoid  them  for  the  same  rea- 
son. A  man  will  go  direct  from  the  seminary  to  a 
church  which  at  once  guarantees  him  a  living, 
makes  reasonable  provision  for  his  family,  and 
leaves  to  him  the  immense  privilege  of  disposing 
his  time  to  suit  himself.  The  church  gives  him  a 
platform  and  a  certain  kind  of  prestige  in  the  com- 
munity. Of  course  it  can  furnish  only  an  oppor- 
tunity, and  the  minister  must  lead  by  his  own  right. 
The  minister  speaks  in  public  more  frequently  than 
the  lawyer  and  so  has  a  chance  to  mold  public 
thought,  and  he  touches  in  an  intimate  fashion  as 


152      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

many  young  people  as  the  teacher.  Even  the  work 
which  seems  least  interesting  and  valuable,  his 
pastoral  calling,  may  be  of  the  utmost  significance 
as  a  means  of  social  service.  The  minister  and 
physician  go  the  same  rounds.  Both  see  the  sick, 
though  the  minister  continues  his  calls  when  death 
has  followed  disease.  His  most  personal  ministry 
is  with  the  sorrowing,  the  doubting,  the  lonely  and 
the  troubled.  His  task  it  is  to  leave  behind  in  the 
home,  or  in  the  individual  heart,  hope,  courage, 
faith,  and  a  saner  outlook  on  life,  than  which  noth- 
ing has  a  greater  personal  or  social  value. 

The  ministry  has  compensations  to  which  other 
professions  are  strangers.  The  minister  cannot 
make  money,  but  he  can  make  what  is  better,  he 
can  make  friends.  He  has  more  time  for  people 
than  the  average  person,  indeed  his  whole  work  is 
with  people.  He  touches  life  at  many  points.  His 
social  world  is  larger  than  that  of  most  men,  for 
the  size  of  a  man's  social  world  depends  upon  the 
number  of  different  kinds  of  people  with  whom 
he  has  a  point  of  contact.  He  has  less  hack  work 
than  those  who  follow  other  callings.  The  man 
who  loves  books,  who  loves  to  work  with  ideas 
and  to  deal  with  personalities  rather  than  things, 
finds  opportunity  in  the  ministry  for  the  pursuit  of 
his  tastes  as  in  no  other  profession.  And  the  min- 
ister has  a  hearing  for  what  he  may  have  to  say, 
a  patient,  kindly,  attentive  hearing.  There  are  few 
pleasures  like  that  of  having  an  opportunity  to 
communicate  oneself,  to  express  the  thoughts  and 


WHY  THE  CHURCH   HAS  BEEN    HALTED        1 53 

feelings  that  are  in  one,  and  to  see  men's  faces  light 
up  with  sympathy  as  they  follow  the  message.  No 
one  has  so  great  an  opportunity  to  shape  public 
opinion  and  to  make  the  moral  tone  of  the  com- 
munity as  the  preacher.  With  the  increasing  use 
of  type  fewer  men  are  able  to  speak  readily,  and 
yet  there  is  no  point  of  contact  so  effective  as  the 
spoken  word.  As  a  trained  public  speaker  the  min- 
ister is  in  constant  demand  for  addresses  of  all 
sorts  and  on  all  occasions.  The  ordinary  platforms 
of  the  press,  public  meeting  and  dinner  table  are 
all  open  to  him,  and  his  pulpit  besides. 

The  minister  also  has  the  institution.  The 
church  is  a  tremendous  organization  and  it  is  in  the 
field.  It  has  immense  wealth,  magnificent  resources 
and  splendid  traditions.  In  its  own  field  there  are 
but  two  institutions  which  are  in  any  sense  its  ri- 
vals, the  Social  Settlement  and  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  The  minister  has  the  ad- 
vantage over  the  settlement  worker  because  the 
man  from  the  settlement  has  to  account  for  him- 
self, to  explain  to  the  people  of  the  neighborhood 
why  he  is  there,  as  the  minister  does  not.  The  As- 
sociation offers  a  magnificent  field  of  usefulness, 
but  it  is  of  narrower  range  than  the  ministry,  and 
besides  the  period  of  usefulness  is  shorter,  the  dead 
line  closer  at  hand.  The  community  looks  to  the 
broad-gauge  minister  for  moral  leadership  more 
than  it  does  to  the  most  versatile  and  competent 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretary.  The  minister's  usefulness 
is  limited  only  by  his  individual  ability  and  per- 


154       THE  RECONSTRUCTION    OF  THE   CHURCH 

sonal  worth.  No  other  position  offers  so  great  an 
Opportunity  for  moral  leadership  as  the  Christian 
ministry. 

And  yet  few  young  men  are  looking  to  the  min- 
istry for  their  life  work.  The  same  general  reason 
must  be  operating  in  the  mind  of  the  young  men 
who  are  fitted  for  the  ministry  but  have  never 
given  it  a  thought,  and  in  the  mind  of  the  Christian 
parents  who  do  not  want  their  sons  to  enter  the 
ministry,  and  in  the  mind  of  thousands  of  ener- 
getic, enterprising  laymen  who  have  lost  interest  in 
the  church — the  church  is  too  conservative  and  in- 
ert. The  progressive  man  sees  in  the  church  the 
same  thing  that  he  sees  in  politics,  "the  organiza- 
tion." "The  organization"  in  the  church  lacks  en- 
tirely the  sinister  purpose  of  "the  organization"  in 
politics,  but  in  either  case  it  "stands  pat"  and  is 
frankly  averse  to  change.  In  the  church  it  is  made 
up  of  the  more  substantial  members,  and  while 
etymologically  "substantial"  means  to  stand  under, 
practically  it  often  means  to  stand  in  front.  Church 
traditions  are  adhered  to  and  conventional  forms 
of  activity  maintained.  It  is  difficult  to  get  any 
new  program  tried  out  because  of  the  organization. 
Young  men  seeking  a  life  work  see  how  the  newer 
and  more  productive  forms  of  church  ministry  are 
blocked  by  the  organization  and  they  refuse  to  be 
so  buried.  And  many  virile  young  laymen  with 
a  splendid  vision  of  the  church's  larger  work  be- 
come discouraged  and  quit  the  church  altogether. 


WHY  THE   CHURCH    HAS   BEEN    HALTED        I55 

because  every  new  departure  is  obstructed  by  the 
standpatters. 

New  leaders  are  not  developed  within  the  church 
because  in  most  churches  the  tenure  of  office  is 
practically  for  life.  The  almost  inevitable  result 
of  permanence  in  office  is  conservatism  and  inertia. 
Decrepitude  isn't  a  matter  of  age  but  of  mental 
habits,  and  thought  shows  signs  of  decrepitude  as 
soon  as  it  becomes  institutionalized.  So  long  as 
the  mind  is  free  it  is  virile  and  growing,  but  when 
it  is  institutionalized  it  becomes  set  and  fixed.  In 
too  many  churches  the  official  mind  has  become  in- 
stitutionalized. Not  a  few  church  officials  seem 
unable  to  realize  that  the  new  situation  demands  a 
new  treatment. 

Men  who  are  aggressive,  resourceful  and  daring 
in  their  private  business  often  become  timid  and 
fearful  as  soon  as  they  are  appointed  to  the  official 
board  of  any  public  institution.  If  it  be  a  church 
board  it  frequently  has  the  effect  of  robbing  men 
of  the  power  of  initiative.  They  seem  to  think  that 
their  business  as  church  officials  is  to  conserve  and 
not  to  promote,  to  hold  the  church  in  its  traditional 
position  and  not  to  advance.  Many  a  minister  is 
wearing  his  heart  out  against  inert  official  boards. 
The  business  man  is  not  breaking  down  to-day  and 
dying  young.  During  the  last  decade  he  has 
learned  that  he  has  a  body  and  is  taking  care  of  it. 
Recreation  is  a  part  of  his  business.  It  is  the  min- 
ister and  the  social  welfare  worker  who  are  wear- 
ing out  prematurely.    Both  are  borne  down  by  the 


156      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

magnitude  of  their  task,  and  the  minister  is  worn 
out  also  by  the  unreadiness  of  church  people  to 
adapt  the  program  of  the  church  to  present  condi- 
tions. Such  a  revised  program  as  would  meet  the 
social  and  religious  needs  of  the  community  would 
attract  to  the  pulpit  young  men  who  are  thirsting 
for  moral  leadership,  and  to  the  pews  men  who 
want  to  see  things  done. 

The  time  of  the  standpatters  in  politics  is  pass- 
ing. The  old  guard  are  giving  way  to  younger, 
more  virile,  more  hopeful  men  who  have  not  yet 
lost  their  ideals.  So  it  should  be  in  the  churches. 
New  blood  is  needed,  and  a  new  point  of  view,  in 
the  directing  of  the  church.  This  can  be  secured 
by  an  inflexible  rule  for  rotation  in  office.  No 
layman,  however  efficient,  should  be  allowed  to 
succeed  himself  when  his  term  of  office  is  com- 
plete. There  are  others,  men  of  efficiency,  who 
need  to  be  developed.  In  every  church  there  are 
magnificent  resources  that  have  never  been  touched. 
Give  them  a  trial.  If  it  be  shown  that  the  new 
man  lacks  powers  of  leadership  he  will  be  retired 
in  turn  and  the  proved  man  reelected.  But  try 
them  all  out.  Blunders,  of  course,  may  be  made, 
but  blunders  are  not  irreparable.  And  a  blunder- 
ing advance  is  better  than  a  retreat  that  is  faultless. 
In  any  case  men  would  be  less  radical  if  given  a 
turn  in  office,  and  others  less  reactionary  if  their 
terms  of  office  were  not  permanent.  While  the 
minister  is  an  expert  in  church  technique  he  needs 
the  counsel  and  cooperation  of  earnest,  aggressive 


WHY  THE   CHURCH    HAS   BEEN   HALTED       157 

men  who  are  as  anxious  as  he  to  get  results.  Mis- 
takes are  not  to  be  feared  so  much  as  inactivity, 
and  the  most  common  sin  of  the  church  is  sloth- 
fulness. 

The  efficiency  of  the  leadership  which  the  minis- 
ter can  give  has  in  very  many  cases  been  impaired 
by  the  lack  of  trained  assistance.  A  well-known 
pastor  recently  resigned  from  his  parish  saying 
that  he  couldn't  stand  the  strain.  When  he  took 
charge  of  the  church  it  had  200  members,  when 
he  resigned  there  were  800  members,  but  still  he 
was  the  sole  paid  worker.  In  business  such  an 
increase  of  trade  would  mean  more  clerks,  stenog- 
raphers or  salesmen.  In  the  church  a  minister  is 
often  penalized  for  success.  For  highest  efficiency 
he  should  have  a  secretary  and  such  trained  help- 
ers as  the  situation  requires.  An  adequate  office 
force  will  release  the  minister  from  drudgery,  save 
his  time,  and  set  him  free  for  larger  and  wider 
leadership.  Such  an  investment  is  justified  by  all 
business  experience.  The  returns  of  many  a  church 
enterprise  would  be  increased  fifty  per  cent,  by  a 
twenty-five  per  cent,  increase  in  the  investment. 

The  right  sort  of  leadership,  both  lay  and  cleri- 
cal, will  turn  the  tide  and  set  the  church  of  God 
mightily  forward.  If  the  church  means  business, 
if  its  leaders  give  themselves  intelligently,  devot- 
edly, enthusiastically  to  its  work,  it  will  find  no 
difficulty  in  getting  the  hearty  support  of  the  men 
of  to-day.  For  men  have  not  turned  from  Christ, 
but  from  the  church.    The  scorner  may  scoff  at  the 


158       THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF   THE   CHURCH 

church,  but  he  has  the  utmost  admiration  and  rev- 
erence for  Christ.  Men  who  call  themselves  athe- 
ists speak  of  Christ  as  if  He  were  a  God.  In  his 
diary  of  a  visit  to  Paris  in  1848,  Palgrave  describes 
the  wrecking  of  the  Tuileries  by  the  infuriated 
mob.  Suddenly  they  broke  into  the  chapel  and 
saw  looking  down  upon  them  from  the  altar  the 
picture  of  Christ.  "Someone  cried  that  everyone 
should  bow  his  head.  The  crowd  at  once  did  so, 
and  knelt  down  whilst  the  picture  was  carried  out 
through  the  utmost  silence  into  a  neighboring 
church.  Then  the  suspended  wave  of  destruction 
rolled  on."  Such  is  the  instinctive  feeling  of  men 
for  Christ.  On  Him  they  pin  their  faith  and  trust. 
If  Christ  be  not  Lord  then  the  soul  has  no  master 
and  history  no  goal. 

"God  may  have  other  Words  for  other  worlds, 
But  for  this  world  the  Word  of  God  is  Christ." 

What  is  needed  to  change  defeat  into  victory  is 
a  real  battle  in  the  name  of  Christ.  It  is  the  mili- 
tant church  which  attracts  red-blooded  men  and 
makes  leaders.  And  first  there  must  be  a  plan  of 
battle.  An  army  cannot  be  rallied  without  something 
to  rally  them  to.  A  campaign  must  be  laid  out. 
A  new  program  must  be  constructed  for  the  church. 
It  must  be  a  real  enterprise  and  give  promise  of 
success.  It  must  offer  something  which  is  vital  and 
worth  doing.  It  is  not  Christianity  but  the  church 
which  has  ceased  to  attract.  No  new  gospel  is 
needed,  but  a  gospel  adapted  to  present  conditions. 


WHY  THE   CHURCH    HAS   BEEN   HALTED        1 59 

If  the  church  is  to  bring  within  its  circle  all  men 
of  Christian  feeling  and  Christian  conduct,  it  must 
address  itself  with  efficiency  to  the  needs  of  to-day. 
It  will  preach  the  same  old  gospel,  but  must  have 
a  new  program  for  carrying  it  into  the  life  of  the 
city.  Men  are  as  loyal  to  Christ  as  they  ever  were, 
but  they  cannot  be  rallied  to  the  church  without 
a  plan  of  battle  that  gives  promise  of  victory. 

Such  a  plan  of  battle  would  result  in  something 
like  the  old  Crusades. 


PART  III 

RECONSTRUCTING  TH^  PROGRAM 
CHAPTER  I 

THE  EFFICIENCY  TEST  IN   CHURCH  ACTIVITIES 

Efficiency  is  an  end  at  which  all  earnest  work- 
ers have  aimed,  but  efficiency  as  a  science  is  mod- 
ern. It  is  modern  even  in  business.  The  wealth 
of  this  country  was  obtained  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century  from  the  exploitation  of 
nature.  Forests,  mines  and  soil  were  robbed  of 
their  riches,  and  in  the  process  the  natural  re- 
sources were  viciously  wasted,  for  there  seemed 
plenty  and  to  spare.  This  waste  could  not  go  on 
forever,  and  during  the  first  decade  of  the  present 
century  wealth  had  to  be  sought  from  a  different 
quarter.  It  was  created  from  the  by-products  of 
industry,  from  the  redeeming  of  the  waste.  Of 
the  second  decade  of  the  century  the  characteris- 
tic is  scientific  managament.  The  efficiency  test  is 
being  applied  to  business.  In  some  small  measure 
it  is  being  applied  to  political  government,  the  most 
belated  institution  in  the  American  republic. 

But  I  suppose  there  are  many  who  do  not  quite 
i6i 


l62       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

understand  what  is  meant  by  the  application  of  the 
efficiency  test  to  the  church.  To  them  it  does  not 
seem  necessary  to  inquire  whether  or  not  the 
church  is  efficient,  and  if  the  question  were  raised 
there  would  be  great  confusion  in  answering  it. 
There  is  for  a  church  a  popular  measure  of  suc- 
cess, but  not  of  efficiency.  If  it  numbers  many  ad- 
herents, if  the  congregations  are  large,  and  par- 
ticularly if  made  up  of  substantial  citizens,  or  if 
the  lack  of  substantial  citizens  is  offset  by  many 
varied  activities,  and  if  the  bills  are  all  met  with- 
out deficit,  the  church  is  counted  successful.  But 
an  enterprise  may  be  successful  without  being  effi- 
cient. To  be  efficient  it  must  not  only  accomplish 
the  purpose  for  which  it  is  organized,  but  in  so 
doing  it  must  also  get  the  largest  results  that  are 
possible  with  the  resources  at  hand.  A  church  or 
a  business  may  be  so  strong  that  without  much 
effort  or  intelligent  direction  it  will  measure  up 
to  the  popular  standard  of  success,  and  yet  at  the 
same  time  may  fall  far  short  of  realizing  the  full 
possibilities  of  its  resources.  Success  is  not  effi- 
ciency. 

The  trouble  in  most  churches  is  that  we  are  sat- 
isfied with  too  small  a  measure  of  success  and  that 
efficiency  is  not  even  demanded.  We  have  splen- 
did resources  in  equipment,  in  manhood  and  wom- 
anhood, but  too  little  result  to  show  for  them. 
The  Christian  church  of  America  is  an  organiza- 
tion so  powerful  that  were  it  efficient  it  could  ac- 
complish anything,  but  with  all  its  resources  it  is 


EFFICIENCY  TEST   IN    CHURCH   ACTIVITIES     163 

disappointing.  We  must  now  follow  in  the  wake 
of  business  and  apply  the  science  of  efficiency. 

Before  doing  so  it  must  be  understood  that  an 
institution  may  be  venerable  without  being  sacred. 
The  most  sacred  thing  is  human  life.  Our  concern 
is  not  to  follow  church  traditions  just  because  they 
are  venerable  and  have  served  a  noble  purpose  in 
their  time,  but  to  find  ways  in  which  the  church  as 
an  institution  can  minister  to  the  life  of  to-day. 
At  the  same  time  it  must  be  realized  how  great  is 
the  difference  between  the  church  and  the  field 
where  the  science  of  efficiency  is  most  completely 
worked  out.  The  church  and  the  factory  are  not 
in  the  same  class.  There  is  no  way  of  estimating 
the  cost  which  goes  into  the  product  of  the  church, 
or  of  reckoning  its  value  when  turned  out.  The 
results  accomplished  by  it  are  measured  only  in 
terms  of  character  and  influence  and  they  cannot 
be  tabulated.  Statistical  estimates  mean  some- 
thing, but  must  be  used  with  caution.  "There  are 
some  churches  fairly  dropsical  with  statistics,  and 
yet  of  no  particular  social  efficiency,"  says  Profes- 
sor Mathews,  "whereas  there  are  other  churches  of 
comparatively  small  membership,  and  to  which 
additions  are  not  very  numerous,  which  are  of 
great  significance  to  their  communities."  ^ 

The  unit  of  efficiency  in  a  church  is  not  so  easy 
to  discover  as  in  a  factory.  Ordinarily  in  judging 
a  church  one  has  in  mind  mainly  the  ability  of  the 

*An  address  on  "Scientific  Management  and  the 
Church,"  at  Sagamore  Beach  Conference,  191 1. 


164      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

minister,  and  that  not  always  in  a  way  that  is  fair 
to  the  situation.^  The  results  that  the  Bible  is  con- 
cerned for — the  tests  of  efficiency  which  the  gospel 
itself  presents — are  summarized  in  a  very  interest- 
ing list  as  "love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  kind- 
ness, goodness,  faithfulness,  meekness,  self-con- 
trol." These  fruits  of  the  Spirit  are  home-grown, 
and  the  minister  cannot  grow  them  for  the  people. 
The  pastor  cannot  love,  and  be  joyful,  meek  and 
self -controlled  for  the  church.  These  are  results 
which  the  people  themselves  must  produce,  and 
they  are  not  to  be  measured  by  statistics.  The  re- 
ligious teacher  seeks  to  tell  from  Sunday  to  Sunday 
how  one  may  produce  these  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  but 
the  results  rest  with  the  people.  Oftentimes  he 
finds  too  little  to  show  for  a  year's  work.  He  says 
that  Christianity  makes  men  happy,  but  a  great 
portion  of  his  people  are  not  happy.  He  says  that 
Christianity  makes  people  generous,  but  a  great 
many  of  those  who  hear  him  from  Sunday  to  Sun- 
day remain  ungenerous  and  selfish.  If  he  could 
only  go  through  the  community  and  invite  the  peo- 
ple, not  to  hear  him  preach,  but  to  come  and  meet 
his  congregation  in  whom  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit 
are  evident,  come  and  cast  in  their  lot  with  these 
happy,  unselfish  and  loving  folk,  he  would  feel  that, 
whatever  the  nature  of  his  preaching,  his  was  an 
efficient  church. 
A  second  difficulty  in  the  way  of  applying  the 

^See  "Producing  Results,"  by  Nolan  R.   Best  in  The 
Continent,  January  20,  191 1. 


EFFICIENCY  TEST  IN   CHURCH   ACTIVITIES     165 

efficiency  test  to  the  church  is  in  the  fact  that  the 
workers  are  for  the  most  part  volunteer  and  un- 
skilled. In  industry  the  workers  are  picked  and 
paid.  Their  efforts  are  under  control.  Within 
certain  limits  the  superintendents  and  foremen  can 
secure  almost  any  results  they  desire.  But  the 
members  of  a  church  are  not  under  orders  save 
from  their  own  conscience,  and  we  have  many  ways 
of  disposing  of  that.  All  depends  on  the  willing- 
ness of  the  people  in  a  church  to  cooperate.  It  is 
the  minister's  task  to  inspire  willingness,  but  fre- 
quently he  finds  the  folk  indifferent  and  inert  and 
unresponsive  despite  all  he  can  do.  The  minister 
could  wish  for  nothing  better  than  that  men  who 
are  at  the  head  of  business  establishments  could 
exchange  places  with  him  for  a  little  while  and 
know  how  different  are  the  organizations  which 
they  lead. 

One  of  the  aims  of  scientific  management  is  to 
center  attention  upon  operation  rather  than  sales. 
As  applied  to  the  church,  this  means  that  the  effi- 
cient church  must  clearly  realize  first  of  all  the 
function  of  the  church,  the  definite  purpose  for 
which  it  exists,  and  then  must  direct  its  operations 
to  the  accomplishment  of  that  purpose.  The 
church  sprang  up  spontaneously  to  take  care  of 
the  life  in  which  Christianity  consists  and  to  pro- 
tect the  work  which  that  life  has  to  do.  Jesus  left 
in  the  world  a  life  to  be  lived,  and  the  church  was 
to  cultivate  and  to  utilize  it.  The  church  is  foster 
mother  for  what  we  know  as  the  Christian  way 


l66      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

of  living.  It  must  develop  and  direct  spiritual  life 
in  social  service  and  community  helpfulness  as  well 
as  in  individual  character.  To  put  it  in  more  sim- 
ple terms  still,  the  church  exists  as  the  modern 
school  exists,  for  training  in  manhood  and  v^oman- 
hood;  not  to  fit  men  and  women  for  a  distant 
heaven,  but  to  fit  them  to  live  here  on  earth,  not  to 
train  them  in  the  service  of  some  absentee  God, 
but  in  the  service  of  those  whom  God  has  given  us 
to  love  and  to  serve. 

The  methods  to  be  employed  in  securing  these 
results  must  change  in  different  communities. 
Some  churches  are  in  neighborhoods  where  institu- 
tional work  is  demanded ;  others  where  money  in- 
vested in  such  work  would  be  pure  waste.  The 
principle  is  this,  an  efficient  church  must  first  dis- 
cover what  particular  modes  of  operation  are  best 
adapted  to  secure  the  desired  results  in  the  neighbor- 
hood where  it  is  situated.  Each  church  must  have  a 
program  for  community  service  which  is  made  out 
with  special  reference  to  its  own  community.  A 
study  of  the  community  must  be  made  not  only 
once,  but  frequently,  since  the  neighborhood  is  al- 
ways changing,  and  church  activities  must  be 
adapted  to  the  needs  discovered. 

To  apply  the  efficiency  test  fundamentally  means 
to  revise  our  whole  idea  of  "church  work."  We 
have  used  the  name  only  for  the  few  activities 
within  or  immediately  connected  with  the  church 
building.  The  church  has  by  some  been  set  down 
as  accomplishing  but  small  results  in  comparison- 


EFFICIENCY  TEST   IN    CHURCH   ACTIVITIES     167 

with  the  cost  of  maintenance,  because  the  church 
has  been  thought  of  as  functioning  only  in  those 
activities  announced  in  the  Sunday  bulletin.  Many 
are  the  meetings  and  societies  and  guilds,  but  the 
sum  total  of  the  work  done  by  such  means  isn't 
enough  to  grow  enthusiastic  over. 

This  is  church  work,  but  it  is  only  a  part  of  the 
work  of  the  church.  If  this  were  all  the  church 
has  to  offer  in  the  way  of  Christian  service  we 
would  no  longer  wonder  that  it  does  not  attract 
more,  but  rather  wonder  that  so  many  stand  by  it 
with  such  loyalty  and  devotion.  For  years  I 
sought  to  devise  some  work  in  the  church  which 
would  appeal  to  the  heroic  and  chivalric  in  young 
men.  Long  since  I  gave  it  up.  Such  work  is  not 
to  be  found  within  the  church  organizations  as 
churches  are  at  present  made  up.  But,  as  has  been 
happily  said,  the  church  is  not  the  field  but  the 
force.  The  home,  the  street,  the  city  are  the  field. 
The  church  is  only  the  headquarters  where  work- 
ers are  trained  and  where  zeal  is  kindled.  Then 
they  must  go  out  from  the  church  and  grapple 
with  the  city. 

The  church  needs  to  be  taught  that  it  is  a  mis- 
sionary enterprise;  I  do  not  mean  in  its  foreign 
contributions  but  in  its  work  here  at  home.  The 
very  life  of  a  church  depends  on  the  reaching  out 
to  greater  conquests  and  to  continued  self-sacri- 
fice. For  many,  religion  has  become  a  gratification 
rather  than  a  sacrifice.  They  go  to  church  on  Sun- 
day for  what  they  may  get — to  enjoy  the  beautiful 


l68       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

temple,  the  dignified  service,  the  music,  the  preach- 
ing— and  if  they  do  not  enjoy  it  they  stay  at  home. 
In  return  for  their  contributions  they  expect  so 
much  preaching,  so  much  music  and  so  much  pas- 
toral attention.  Sometimes  they  complain  that  the 
minister  spends  a  disproportionate  amount  of  time 
in  "outside  work."  They  look  upon  him  as  holding 
a  relation  to  the  church  similar  to  that  of  an  attor- 
ney retained  by  a  corporation  to  give  all  his  time 
to  its  interests.  Rather  his  position  should  be  like 
that  of  an  attorney  retained  by  a  charity  organiza- 
tion or  children's  aid  society  who  gives  his  time 
not  to  those  who  put  up  the  money  but  to  those 
who  have  need  of  his  services  and  no  money  to 
put  up.  The  church  is  a  missionary  enterprise  and 
should  subsidize  the  minister  to  preach  and  teach 
and  be  a  personal  counsellor  and  friend,  and  then 
to  give  such  time  as  he  can  to  the  work  of  the  King- 
dom wherever  it  most  needs  to  be  done.  It  is  not 
only  uneconomic  but  unchristian  for  a  minister  to 
be  required  to  spend  his  time  and  strength  in  some 
form  of  activity  that  no  longer  serves  a  high  and 
worthy  purpose,  when  his  time  and  strength  could 
accomplish  so  much  more  for  the  Kingdom  along 
other  lines  of  service.  And  that  church  reflects 
most  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  which  releases  its  min- 
ister from  "serving  tables"  and  encourages  him  to 
take  the  word  to  those  of  no  parish  or  priest,  who 
are  as  sheep  not  having  a  shepherd. 

It  is  a  poorly  constructed  factory  which  requires 
nine-tenths  of  the  power  of  its  engines  to  keep  it 


// 


EFFICIENCY  TEST   IN    CHURCH   ACTIVITIES     169 

lighted  and  heated  and  to  keep  in  motion  its  shafts 
and  belts  and  pulleys,  leaving  only  one-tenth  of  its  '  ^ 
power  for  actual  work  upon  the  raw  material.  But 
about  this  percentage  is  true  of  the  churches. 
Much  of  our  effort  is  just  to  keep  the  machinery 
going.  Church  societies  are  active  raising  money 
for  current  expenses  and  contributing  to  the  social 
life  of  the  local  congregation.  Pastors  give  their 
time  to  the  preparation  of  sermons  for  people  who 
have  heard  enough  sermons  to  make  them  saints  if 
they  practiced  one  in  fifty,  and  to  visiting  their  own 
protected  flocks.  Churches  are  busy  saving  their 
lives  and  counting  numbers  and  making  glowing 
reports  of  their  flourishing  statistical  condition. 
But  little  time  and  strength  are  devoted  to  the  raw 
materials  upon  which  the  church  is  set  to  work,  to 
the  great  "unwashed  world,"  as  we  call  it,  to  the 
multitudes  who  have  no  church,  no  minister  and 
sometimes  no  God. 

A  Christian  church  exists  not  for  itself  but  for 
the  community.  It  may  not  have  a  great  variety 
of  parish  activities  and  its  prayer  meeting  may  not 
be  largely  attended,  but  if  its  members  are  engaged 
in  community  service,  if  they  are  occupied  with 
those  agencies  which  are  devoted  to  social  better- 
ment, it  is  an  efficient  church.  And  if  they  protect 
the  time  of  their  minister  and  encourage  him  to 
do  the  work  of  the  Kingdom  wherever  it  is  most 
needed,  they  are  following  the  ideal  of  a  Christian 
church.  There  are  other  communities  which  are 
more  destitute  and  other  people  who  have  more 


IB 


170      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

need  of  his  counsel  and  friendship,  and  when  a 
church  supports  a  minister  and  sends  him  out  to 
the  neglected  and  the  lonely  and  friendless  and 
poor,  it  fulfills  its  function  as  a  missionary  enter- 
prise.   Giving  its  life  it  will  find  it. 

Of  course  if  the  church  is  to  be  a  force  it  must 
be  a  well-organized  one.  An  army  needs  drill  and 
routine  until  it  knows  how  to  move  compactly  and 
strike  effectively.  Some  ministers  who  have  caught 
this  vision  of  the  church  existing  for  the  community 
have  neglected  to  build  up  a  church  which  is  strong 
enough  and  united  enough  to  mean  very  much  to 
the  community.  They  have  gone  out  like  knight 
errants  to  do  battle  with  wrong,  but  with  no  or- 
ganized force  behind  them.  Let  them  take  time  to 
build  the  church  into  a  real  brotherhood,  fired  with 
their  leader's  zeal,  cemented  by  Christian  love,  and 
with  the  church  back  of  them  they  can  accomplish 
a  hundred  times  more  than  if  they  go  single- 
handed. 

The  church  organization  must  be  submitted  to 
the  same  standards  as  any  other  enterprise.  Every 
institution  of  the  church  must  meet  the  test  of  effi- 
ciency. And  the  principle  to  be  applied  is  this :  any 
meeting  or  organization  in  the  church  which  re- 
quires more  energy  to  keep  it  going  than  it  con- 
tributes life  and  power  to  the  church  is  uneconomic 
and  should  be  abolished. 

In  successful  business  this  test  is  taken  for 
granted.  A  department  may  be  run  at  a  loss  be- 
cause it  is  necessary  for  the  efficiency  of  the  whole 


EFFICIENCY  TEST   IN    CHURCH   ACTIVITIES     I7I 

establishment,  and  because  it  attracts  the  purchasers 
for  other  departments.  Otherwise  the  sole  question 
asked  is,  Does  it  pay  or  can  it  be  made  to  pay  ?  A 
church  should  be  run  on  an  equally  intelligent  basis. 
Some  humdrum  tasks  must  be  performed  to  keep 
its  machinery  up  to  the  standard  and  there  must 
be  some  committees  whose  only  reason  for  exist- 
ence is  the  welfare  of  the  institution.  But  most 
meetings  and  societies  were  designed  originally  for 
the  cultivation  of  religious  feeling  and  its  expres- 
sion in  Christian  fellowship  and  service,  and  if 
such  a  meeting  or  society  doesn't  "pay"  in  moral 
and  religious  values  it  ought  to  be  honestly  dealt 
with.  Some  traditional  forms  of  church  activity 
may  have  to  be  eliminated,  but  usefulness,  not  an- 
tiquity, is  the  test. 

We  can  make  no  general  rule  here.  Certain 
kinds  of  activity  may  be  of  value  in  some  communi- 
ties and  may  have  lost  their  value  in  others.  But 
why  should  they  be  perpetuated  where  they  have 
ceased  to  be  useful?  What  we  are  after  is  effi- 
ciency, not  uniformity,  and  any  effort  expended  in 
church  activity  which  brings  no  return  has  a  ten- 
dency to  discourage  all  effort.  It  will  cost  a  pang 
to  give  up  some  hallowed  institutions  which  have 
ceased  to  be  efficient,  but  that  will  hurt  less  than 
the  brain-fag  and  heartache  which  it  costs  to  gal- 
vanize into  life  what  is  long  time  dead. 

The  application  of  the  efficiency  test  should  be- 
gin with  an  efficiency  exhibit.  Very  few  churches 
have  really  faced  the  question  as  to  how  far  their 


172       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

present  activities  are  meeting  the  needs  of  the  com- 
munity. In  most  cases  the  pastor  is  the  only  one 
who  knows  the  needs,  opportunities,  and  difficul- 
ties of  the  field,  and  frequently  he  does  not. 
Charts,  diagrams  and  maps  showing  the  character 
of  the  parish  and  exhibiting  the  resources  of  the 
church  with  its  organized  efforts  to  serve  the  parish 
would  bring  the  whole  situation  before  the  eye  in 
an  enlightening  fashion.  The  fact  will  at  once 
stand  out  that  the  societies  of  many  churches,  as 
has  been  said,  are  "like  water-tight  compartments, 
which  keep  it  afloat,  but  urge  it  on  to  no  port." 
Much  overlapping  and  duplication  and  waste  in 
church  activities  will  certainly  be  revealed.  On 
the  basis  of  this  exhibit  an  efficiency  commission 
may  suggest  necessary  changes  in  the  program, 
and  may  plan  in  a  large  and  progressive  spirit  for 
the  more  efficient  performance  of  the  church's  task. 

When  this  constructive  program  for  community 
service  has  been  agreed  upon,  it  must  be  carried 
out  with  enthusiasm.  The  church  needs  to  be  pro- 
moted in  the  same  intelligent  fashion  and  with  the 
same  energy  and  enthusiasm  which  we  find  in  busi- 
ness and  in  sport.  Fear  of  unreality  and  cant  has 
made  men  cautious  and  reticent  in  religion.  In  an 
excess  of  caution  some  have  thrown  out  of  the 
window  the  fire  that  warms  them.  But  religion  is 
"morality  touched  with  emotion,"  as  Matthew  Ar- 
nold puts  it.  Fervor  and  zeal  go  naturally  and  in- 
separably with  the  religious  spirit  if  it  is  real. 

Religion  is  a  public  as  well  as  a  private  affair. 


EFFICIENCY  TEST   IN    CHURCH   ACTIVITIES     I73 

for  it  is  a  way  of  living.  The  state  of  religion  is 
as  much  a  public  interest  as  the  condition  of  poli- 
tics or  of  popular  education.  In  so  far  as  we  have 
outgrown  superstition  there  is  no  reason  for  hesi- 
tation in  discussing  religious  questions.  Wherever 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together,  at  the  club,  in 
the  car,  on  the  street,  in  the  home,  let  all  men  of 
good  will  address  themselves  to  the  frank  and  ear- 
nest consideration  of  popular  religion.  And  let  the 
church  as  the  organ  of  religion  be  promoted  with 
enthusiasm. 


CHAPTER  II 

REORGANIZING    THE    CHURCH    SERVICES 

The  appeal  of  the  church  to  the  community  has 
been  made  regularly  through  two  preaching  ser- 
vices and  a  Bible  School  on  Sunday  and  a  devo- 
tional service  of  some  sort  on  a  week  night.  For 
years  these  have  been  the  stated  "means  of  grace." 
So  hallowed  are  they  by  tradition  that  it  seems 
sacrilege  to  raise  a  question  concerning  them.  But 
if  we  are  resolved  on  efficiency  we  must  inquire 
how  far  each  service  meets  the  needs  of  the  com- 
munity. Each  must  stand  by  itself  and  be  tested 
according  to  the  special  conditions  with  which  each 
has  to  deal. 

The  work  of  a  church  may  be  classified  under 
three  heads,  Christian  culture,  social  service  and 
Christian  propaganda.  The  church  must  minister 
to  the  spiritual  culture  of  its  adherents,  must  fur- 
nish means  for  the  expression  of  the  Christian  feel- 
ing which  it  has  cultivated,  and  must  propagate 
Christian  truth  and  win  recruits  for  the  Christian 
way. 

For  the  first  part  of  this  task  the  present  pro- 
gram of  the  church  is  adequate.  In  so  far  as  there 
is  any  failure  in  Christian  culture  that  failure  is, 

174 


REORGANIZING  THE   CHURCH    SERVICES         I75 

in  my  opinion,  to  be  laid  mainly  at  the  door  of  the 
home.  The  modern  home  is  not  meeting  its  full 
responsibility  in  this  matter.  Parents  do  not  as  a 
rule  instruct  their  children  in  the  Bible,  which  is 
the  textbook  of  the  Christian  life.  In  many  homes 
the  Bible  is  an  unfamiliar  book.  Religious  instruc- 
tion of  the  definite  sort  has  been  dropped  from  our 
public  schools  and  is  passing  out  of  the  home. 

Too  much  is  left  for  the  church  to  do,  but  the 
service  it  is  rendering  in  the  way  of  Christian  cul- 
ture, while  inadequate,  is  not  inefficient.  The 
preaching  of  to-day  averages  up  to  a  higher  stand- 
ard than  in  the  pulpit's  palmiest  days.  It  is  less 
theological,  but  not  less  Biblical.  The  modern 
preacher  is  less  an  orator,  but  more  a  teacher.  He 
is  in  touch  with  life  as  his  predecessor  was  not. 
He  is  less  dogmatic,  but  speaks  with  greater  au- 
thority as  to  the  actual  business  of  living.  Criti- 
cisms which  one  hears  of  the  church  hark  back  to 
the  childhood  of  the  critic,  and  many  of  the  loudest 
critics  of  the  church  have  not  attended  it  for  fif- 
teen or  twenty  years.  Their  criticism  is  not  fair 
even  to  the  church  of  the  past,  for  some  sermon 
on  heaven  or  hell  heard  years  ago  sticks  in  the 
memory,  because  of  its  picturesqueness,  and  bulks 
more  largely  than  many  sermons  on  forgiveness 
and  neighborliness.  Contemporary  preaching  cer- 
tainly is  not  "other-worldly."  It  addresses  itself 
to  this  present  Hfe.  The  pulpit  of  to-day  is  in 
many  cases  seriously  grappling  with  the  problems 
of  to-day.    To  those  who  give  it  a  patient  and  con- 


176       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

secutive  hearing  it   furnishes  guidance  and  com- 
fort, courage  and  hope  for  right  living. 

I  do  not  want  to  appear  a  special  pleader,  being 
a  preacher  myself,  but  I  think  those  who  find  the 
church  unprofitable  are  as  a  rule  they  who  attend 
it  irregularly  and  indifferently.  Church  attendance 
is  for  them  purely  perfunctory.  A  church  service 
ought  to  be  a  meal,  but  many  persons  do  not  go 
to  it  as  a  meal.  They  do  not  create  an  appetite  for 
it  by  the  exercise  of  their  religious  faculties.  They 
are  not  hungry  for  what  the  church  has  to  offer. 
They  begin  Sunday  too  late,  and  church  comes  too 
near  to  breakfast,  so  that  to  arrive  at  church  even 
after  the  service  is  well  under  way  requires  hurry. 
The  quiet  and  peace  of  the  day  have  had  no  chance 
to  find  them,  before  they  are  confronted  with  the 
sermon.  They  reach  their  pews  not  in  the  spirit 
of  worship.  The  preacher  has  first  to  win  their 
attention  and  then  create  a  sympathetic  atmosphere 
and  then  convince  and  persuade.  Too  much  is 
asked  of  the  preacher  when  he  is  expected  in  thirty 
minutes  to  get  hold  of  restive,  preoccupied  minds 
which  for  the  whole  week  have  given  no  thought  to 
the  deepest  problems  of  living.  It  is  not  through 
any  radical  reconstruction  of  the  church  program 
that  Christian  culture  is  to  be  better  provided  for, 
but  through  a  more  thoughtful  and  persistent  and 
reverent  use  of  the  services  set  apart  for  public 
worship.  And  the  services  of  the  church  must  be 
counted  as  tributary  to  the  stimulating  and  hallow- 
ing Christian  influence  of  the  home. 


REORGANIZING  THE  CHURCH   SERVICES         177 

There  are  churches  where  two  cultural  services 
on  Sunday  are  necessary.  Many  persons  in  some 
churches  may  be  unable  to  attend  at  one  hour  but 
can  at  another.  But  in  the  average  church  one 
preaching  service  for  purposes  of  Christian  culture 
is  enough.  Two  sermons  a  Sunday  of  the  same 
general  type  are  not  needed  by  the  average  church- 
goer, for  there  is  so  much  preaching  to-day  apart 
from  the  pulpit.  The  magazines,  the  modern  book, 
even  the  newspapers  are  preaching.  Every  man 
who  has  the  ear  of  the  people  these  days  is  preach- 
ing. And  for  the  minister  to  preach  to  the  same 
people  two  sermons  a  Sunday  for  Christian  culture 
is  a  useless  expenditure  of  effort  which  might  be 
more  wisely  directed  to  other  ends.  Sunday  af- 
ternoon and  evening  services  belong  mainly  to  the 
post-reformation  period.  Protestantism  did  for 
Sunday  what  the  Jewish  Exile  did  for  the  Sab- 
bath. Originally  a  day  of  cessation  from  toil,  it 
became  in  each  case  exclusively  a  day  for  religious 
observances.  The  Calvinist  and  Puritan  put  the 
ban  on  all  Sunday  recreation  and  play.  Walking 
and  driving  were  a  sin  unless  they  took  one  to 
church.  It  is  easy  to  believe  that  for  the  sake  of 
a  walk  or  drive  on  Sunday,  even  the  three  sermons 
which  were  often  served  up  on  a  single  day  would 
be  welcome.  As  late  as  the  last  generation  the 
long,  vacant  Sunday  of  the  country,  with  no  novels, 
no  magazines,  no  papers,  no  travel  or  recreation 
was  greatly  enriched  by  a  second  church  service. 
There  are  some  communities  where  this  is  still  true. 


178       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

and  others  were  the  women  of  the  working  class 
cook  the  one  hot  dinner  of  the  week  on  Sunday 
and  can  attend  church  only  in  the  evening.  But  in 
the  average  church  the  whole  congregation  can 
attend  the  morning  service,  those  who  go  to  church 
at  all  are  present  in  the  morning,  and  the  historic 
Sunday  night  service  is  kept  going  only  with  an 
effort.  The  energy  that  has  to  be  put  forth  by 
minister  and  people  for  the  Sunday  night  service 
is  usually  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  good  accom- 
plished. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  acts  of  religion 
should  not  be  confined  to  Sunday.  We  go  to 
church  on  Sunday  rather  than  Monday  because  it 
is  the  day  when  we  are  free  from  the  daily  exac- 
tions of  toil.  We  go  to  church  on  Sunday  that  we 
may  be  helped  to  keep  the  week-days  holy.  But 
Sunday  is  not  merely  for  church-going.  It  is  the 
day  of  the  week  in  which  to  preserve  the  balance 
of  life.  As  the  spirit  receives  little  attention  dur- 
ing the  week,  Sunday  is  first  of  all  for  spiritual 
culture.  If  the  mind  has  had  no  chance  for  growth, 
Sunday  is  also  the  day  for  study  and  good  reading. 
If  the  body  has  grown  tired,  it  is  the  day  for  rest 
and  proper  recreation.  If  one  has  had  no  time  to 
be  with  his  family  or  to  see  his  friends,  it  is  the 
home  day,  the  day  to  be  in  the  company  of  friends 
and  loved  ones,  with  careful  regard  for  those  who 
may  be  serving  in  the  home.  Sunday  was  made 
for  man,  the  whole  man.  No  one  side  of  his  na- 
ture ought  to  be  neglected,  and  Sunday  is  to  be 


REORGANIZING  THE   CHURCH   SERVICES         1 79 

used  to  restore  the  lost  balance  of  the  week.  The 
two  institutions  whose  claim  on  the  day  of  leisure 
stands  foremost  are  the  home  and  the  church. 
Each  should  minister  to  the  other. 

In  many  a  community  an  early  Sunday  morning 
service  .corresponding   somewhat   to   the    Roman 
Catholic  early  mass  would  meet  a  real  need.    There 
are  a  number  of  Protestant  servants  who  cannot 
get  to  the  regular  church  service  and  who  do  not 
have  even   Sunday  evening  to  themselves.     Also 
there  are  persons   who   feel  they  cannot  take  a 
whole  day  during  the  week  for  recreation  who  on 
Sunday  go  out  into  the  country  for  a  day  on  foot 
or  in  automobiles.    Such  Sunday  trips  are  sources 
of  great  enjoyment  and  profit  and  are  not  wrong 
save  as  they  interfere  with  public  worship.      It 
would  be  futile,  if  desirable,  to  try  to  keep  such 
folk  altogether  from  their  Sunday  in  the  country 
when  the  weather  is  fine  and  the  out-of-doors  is 
inviting.    But  these  Sundays  out-of-doors  not  only 
lack  the  important  element  of  social  worship  but 
break  in  upon  the  church-going  habit  so  that  in 
the  autumn  when  the  people  are  at  home  once 
more  on  Sundays  it  takes  them  many  weeks  to  get 
back  to  church,  and  sometimes  the  break  becomes 
permanent.     While  a  church  service  which  closes 
at  noon  keeps  persons  at  home  for  most  of  the 
day,  they  might  be  very  willing  to  attend  a  brief 
service  of  worship   at   some    earlier   hour   in   the 
morning.     Probably  there   would   not  be  enough 
people  in  any  community  to  require  an  early  ser- 


l8o       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

Vice  in  every  Protestant  church,  but  the  churches 
of  a  neighborhood  could  cooperate,  holding  the  ser- 
vice in  one  church  for  one  month  and  in  another  for 
the  next.  By  some  such  means  all  could  be  pro- 
vided an  opportunity  for  worship  and  the  church- 
going  habit  preserved. 

I  am  aware  that  some  will  scoff  at  the  idea  of 
adjusting  church  services  so  as  to  accommodate 
those  who  want  to  spend  Sunday  in  the  country, 
but  we  may  as  well  face  the  facts.  In  many  cases 
it  is  a  question  of  whether  the  church  will  continue 
to  minister  as  it  can  to  many  who  need  it,  or  lose 
altogether  the  place  it  has  occupied  in  their  lives, 
and  it  must  be  remembered  once  more  that  folk 
were  not  made  for  the  church  but  the  church  for 
folk. 

The  Sunday  evening  service  of  the  average 
church  should  be  specifically  for  purposes  of  prop- 
aganda.^ It  should  aim  to  get  the  ear  of  those  who 
will  not  attend  the  morning  service  and  are  not 
yet  ready  for  the  cultural  type  of  sermon.  It 
should  be  entirely  different  in  method  and  message 
from  the  morning  service.  Save  in  exceptional 
cases  two  services  of  the  same  kind  are  unproduc- 
tive and  wasteful.  The  objective  of  the  evening 
service  should  be  to  commend  the  Christian  re- 
ligion to  those  without  the  church.  It  should  be 
enough  unlike  the  conventional  morning  service  to 
appeal  to  an  entirely  different  group,  even  if  it  be 
so  unconventional  as  to  repel  present  churchgoers. 
*See  Chapter  3. 


REORGANIZING  THE  CHURCH   SERVICES         l8l 

Those  who  attend  in  the  morning  should  not  be 
put  under  a  feeling  of  obligation  to  attend  in  the 
evening  unless  they  come  to  assist. 

The  largest  latitude  may  be  taken  in  this  second 
service  for  it  must  be  made  to  serve  its  purpose 
or  should  be  discontinued.  It  is  not  for  those  who 
have  well-formed  habits  of  church-going,  but  it  is 
for  the  purpose  of  turning  to  the  church  those  who 
usually  pass  it  by.  Since  these  are  not  attracted 
by  present  methods,  the  law  of  efficiency  requires 
that  other  methods  be  employed.  Somehow  the 
non-churchgoer  must  be  reached,  and  the  conserva- 
tive members  of  the  church  must  either  adjust 
themselves  to  all  manner  of  innovations  or  agree 
that  their  church  is  unequal  to  the  task  of  reaching 
the  outsider.  There  is  a  feeling  among  ministers 
that  to  depart  from  conventional  methods  is  un- 
professional and  undignified.  We  have  shunned 
what  might  be  called  sensational  features  lest  it 
be  considered  an  acknowledgment  of  failure.  It 
seems  to  me  that  to  persist  in  using  a  method  which 
fails  is  worse  than  turning  to  another  which  may 
succeed,  and  one  has  only  to  look  over  the  congre- 
gation at  the  average  second  service  and  count 
those  who  are  not  loyal  church  members,  to  see 
how  far  it  has  failed  as  a  propagandist  meeting. 
Isn't  it  better  to  admit  a  fact  than  to  have  it 
flaunted  in  one's  unwilling  face  every  Sunday 
night?  We  are  tyrannized  over  by  professional- 
ism. We  are  in  unspeakable  dread  of  being 
thought   sensational.      In   our   ministerial   gather- 


l82       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

ings  we  have  piously  admonished  one  another  not 
to  seek  the  crowd.  Well,  that  depends  on  whether 
we  are  self-seeking  or  seeking  men  for  Christ's 
sake.  I  verily  believe  that  many  a  minister  is 
breaking  his  heart  over  not  getting  the  ear  of  the 
people,  and  that  it  is  for  the  souls  of  men  he  agon- 
izes. He  walks  along  the  crowded  streets  or  rides 
in  a  crowded  car  and  says  to  himself,  "Where  are 
all  these  people  on  Sunday?  Why  can't  we  win 
them  for  Christ  and  the  church?"  and  it  is  love 
for  them,  not  for  self,  which  prompts  him.  He 
sees  the  number  increasing  who  never  hear  the 
Christian  message  from  a  pulpit,  and  his  spirit  is 
troubled.  Not  only  does  he  question  the  reality 
of  his  task,  but  he  questions  if  he  is  carrying  out 
the  command  of  Christ  which  was  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature. 

The  minister  is  kept  in  bondage  to  tradition  and 
to  the  conventional  notions  of  his  people.  He 
realizes  that  the  present  methods  are  not  effective, 
but  fears  to  change  them,  or  his  church  is  afraid. 
Have  we  not  come  to  a  pass  where  we  must  throw 
off  all  fear  except  the  fear  of  inefficiency?  If  the 
church  is  not  to  be  content  just  to  hold  its  own, 
if  we  are  going  to  keep  to  the  church  as  a  means 
of  propagating  the  Gospel,  then  the  masses  of  peo- 
ple must  be  gotten  into  the  habit  of  coming  to 
the  church.  There  are  many  things  not  vicious  in 
themselves  which  bring  people  together,  and  these 
should  be  used  to  get  them  together  in  the  church. 
The  line  to  draw  is  not  against  the  unconventional 


REORGANIZING  THE  CHURCH    SERVICES         183 

but  against  the  ineffectual  or  the  immoral.  Within 
this  line  sensational  methods  are  not  only  permissi- 
ble but  obligatory,  for  the  responsibility  is  upon  us 
to  attract  the  attention  and  arouse  the  interest  of 
the  people.  There  are  methods  which  are  color- 
less so  far  as  moral  values  are  concerned,  but  which 
do  bring  folk  together,  and  not  one  of  these  should 
go  untried.  Our  first  task  is  to  get  the  church 
within  the  field  of  consciousness  of  the  masses  of 
people,  to  bring  it  to  their  notice  so  that  they  will 
be  conscious  of  its  presence  and  will  come  once 
more  to  reckon  with  it  as  a  factor  in  the  life  of  the 
city.  The  alternative  is  inescapable:  either  we 
must  get  the  people  to  church,  or  abandon  the 
churches  for  propagandic  purposes. 

Many  churches  are  so  situated  that  a  purely 
propagandic  service  in  the  church  building  would 
be  futile.  The  tendency  to  place  churches  in  the 
residence  districts  occupied  by  church  people  is 
rapidly  contributing  to  this  end.  In  such  cases  the 
second  service  should  be  discontinued.  It  is  far 
better  to  have  one  strong,  adequate,  well-attended 
service  than  to  have  a  second  which  is  unworthy 
of  the  church.  If  the  evening  service  is  not  filling 
a  real  need,  the  efficiency  test  requires  that  it 
shouldn't  be  held.  Let  the  church  in  the  residence 
district  discontinue  the  second  service  if  it  cannot 
adequately  sustain  it,  and  encourage  the  Sunday 
evening  at  home. 

Many  a  minister,  released  from  the  second  ser- 
vice where  it  is  only  a  burden  to  pastor  and  people. 


184       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

could  accomplish  much  more  for  the  Kingdom  in 
some  other  way.  In  those  communities  where  Sun- 
day is  the  only  evening  men  may  be  found  at  home 
with  their  families,  if  the  minister  were  able  to 
spend  this  evening  in  the  homes  of  his  people  it 
would  mean  far  more  than  for  him  to  be  preach- 
ing to  a  handful  in  the  church.  In  rural  districts 
and  industrial  neighborhoods  particularly,  Sunday 
afternoon  and  evening  offer  many  points  of  contact 
between  minister  and  people  which  are  to  be  found 
no  other  day,  and  capital  use  could  be  made  o£ 
them  by  the  minister  if  he  were  freed  from  the 
present  ineffectual  evening  service. 

But  unless  it  is  engaged  in  Christian  propaganda, 
a  church  is  performing  only  a  part  of  its  function. 
Should  there  be  no  occasion  for  it  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood,  some  other  point  of  contact  in  some 
other  part  of  the  city  will  need  to  be  found.  In  not 
a  few  cases  the  church  may  be  well  situated  to  reach 
the  non-churchgoing  population,  and  yet  through 
tradition  or  prejudice  the  church  building  may  itself 
be  a  barrier.  In  either  case  the  obvious  thing  to  do 
is  to  make  use  of  a  hall  or  theater  where  people  go 
easily  and  naturally.  The  morning  service  will,  of 
course,  continue  to  be  held  in  the  church  edifice  and 
be  attended  by  the  regular  congregation,  but  the 
propagandic  meeting  should  be  held  where  the  ear 
of  the  non-churchgoer  can  be  had.  This  is  not  in 
any  way  to  be  regarded  as  a  desertion,  but  rather 
an  extension  of  the  church.  As  university  extension 
takes  the  university  to  those  who  cannot  attend  the 


REORGANIZING  THE  CHURCH   SERVICES         185 

class  room,  so  the  church  if  it  means  business  must 
reach  those  who  are  not  touched  through  present 
agencies.  Models  for  such  meetings  are  at  hand; 
but  the  discussion  of  distinctly  propagandic  methods 
is  reserved  for  another  chapter. 

Many  churches  are  so  situated  that  to  give  one 
entire  service  on  Sunday  to  propaganda  and  only 
one  to  Christian  culture  would  be  disproportionate, 
as  most  of  the  people  who  might  be  reached  by  the 
church  are  now  nominal  Christians.  In  a  large 
number  of  churches  tradition  is  so  powerful  that 
a  second  service,  even  though  not  needed  in  its 
present  form  or  as  an  exclusively  propagandic  meet- 
ing, will  continue  to  be  held.  It  may  be  made  useful 
and  efficient,  however,  as  there  is  great  need  to-day 
for  a  new  type  of  religious  service. 

The  two-fold  purpose  of  public  church  meetings 
is  Christian  culture  and  propaganda.  The  element 
of  worship  has  large  and  permanent  value  in  spirit- 
ual culture  and  must  always  be  provided.  The 
other  large  factor  is  moral  and  religious  instruc- 
tion, which  is  now  given  through  the  sermon  after 
the  lecture  method  employed  in  many  undergradu- 
ate classrooms.  But  most  church  attendants  are  of 
post-graduate  age  and  the  seminar  method  is  bet- 
ter suited  to  them.  The  standing  complaint  against 
church  services  is  that  one  man  does  all  the  in- 
structing and  that  the  people  have  no  chance  to  ask 
questions  or  to  offer  a  different  opinion.  We  must 
have  trained  teachers  of  religion  as  we  have  spe- 
cialized teachers  in  college  and  university,  but  the 


l86       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

college  teacher  deals  with  the  young  while  the 
teacher  of  religion  speaks  to  men  who  are  older  and 
often  wiser  than  he.  The  preacher  has  special  train- 
ing and  equipment  for  his  work,  but,  after  all,  ex- 
perience of  God  is  the  greatest  teacher,^  and  a  con- 
sensus of  opinion  on  moral  questions  would  come 
nearer  the  truth  than  the  judgment  of  the  wisest 
man  in  the  group.  Hence  I  am  convinced  that  to 
give  vitality  and  effectiveness  to  religious  instruc- 
tion we  must  make  more  of  the  seminar  method. 

In  churches  not  too  rigidly  bound  by  tradition 
and  in  which  but  one  public  service  is  held  on  Sun- 
day, I  surmise  that  in  the  next  five  years  that  ser- 
vice will  be  so  reorganized  as  to  provide  for  a  half 
hour  of  worship,  with  the  aid  of  ritual  and  other 
adjuncts  that  appeal  to  the  imagination — corre- 
sponding broadly  to  the  mass  of  the  Roman  church 
and  the  litany  of  the  Anglican  church — this  to  be 
followed  by  a  half-hour  of  definite  moral  instruc- 
tion or  religious  appeal  by  the  minister,  and  then 
a  half-hour  of  earnest  conference  and  discussion 
with  regard  to  our  common  Christian  duty.  When 
the  Socialists  rose  to  ask  a  question  or  state  an  hon- 
est opinion  in  the  churches  of  New  York  they  were 
promptly  ejected  and  the  church-going  world  was 
properly  scandalized,  whereat  the  anti-church  folk 
were  strengthened  in  their  conviction  that  the  church 
is  afraid  of  the  truth  and  insists  on  peace  and  re- 
spectability at  any  cost.  The  methods  that  were 
used  on  both  sides  are  to  be  deprecated,  but  the 
*I  Cor.  2:10-16. 


REORGANIZING  THE   CHURCH   SERVICES         187 

episode  points  out  the  way,  if  the  church  really 
wants  to  reconcile  those  who  are  hostile  to  it  and 
get  its  gospel  to  all  in  a  form  that  they  will  hear. 
By  some  such  method  as  is  here  suggested  we  may 
create  a  vital  interest  in  what  we  have  to  say  from 
the  pulpit,  get  at  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  arrive 
nearer  to  the  truth  ourselves.  Where  the  Sunday 
morning  service  is  too  decorous  to  allow  such  an 
exchange  of  opinion,  the  Sunday  evening  service 
at  least  could  be  made  use  of  in  this  manner. 

Such  a  service  backed  by  a  high  moral  purpose 
would  have  both  a  cultural  and  a  propagandic  value. 
It  would  give  the  minister  an  opportunity  to  clear 
up  misunderstandings,  new  light  would  be  thrown 
on  phases  of  the  subject  about  which  there  is  con- 
fusion, and  it  would  bring  into  the  church  many 
who  now  sincerely  question  its  honesty  and  fairness 
and  fearlessness  of  the  truth.  Those  who  are  now 
hostile  to  the  church,  having  uttered  their  protest, 
could  be  reasoned  with  and  where  they  are  in  the 
wrong  robbed  of  their  protest,  and  made  from  ene- 
mies to  friends.  But  perhaps  most  important  of 
all,  such  a  service  would  give  reality  to  our  preach- 
ing. The  knowledge  that  it  may  be  challenged 
would  make  us  careful  of  our  statements,  and  to 
know  that  the  sermon  is  to  be  followed  by  discus- 
sion would  insure  the  selection  of  themes  which 
have  a  place  in  the  thought  and  life  of  our  hearers. 
Then  we  would  speak  more  in  the  terms  of  experi- 
ence and  be  less  concerned  to  build  sermons,  how- 
ever beautiful,  around  themes  of  remoter  interest. 


1 88       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

A  few  weeks  ago  I  heard  a  really  great  preacher 
preach  to  a  large  evening  audience  of  unspeculative 
people  on  Micah's  mighty  word,  "What  doth  God 
require  of  thee?"  and  he  spent  most  of  his  time 
on  the  verses  that  precede,  which  are  of  only  his- 
torical interest,  and  in  telling  what  true  religion 
is  not,  leaving  only  a  few  minutes  in  which  to 
speak  of  justice  and  mercy  and  humility  before 
God.  That's  the  fault  of  most  of  our  sermons. 
They  are  all  vestibule  and  no  fireside,  we  spend 
too  much  time  without  and  too  little  where  folk 
live,  we  repeat  over  and  over  the  generalities  on 
which  all  are  agreed  and  do  not  grapple  with  the 
big  problems  of  human  relationship  over  which  men 
are  vexing  their  souls.  It  would  be  a  great  gain  if 
we  ministers  were  under  necessity  to  find  themes 
that  can  be  discussed,  themes  which  would  touch 
the  hearts  of  men,  and  move  them  to  ask  a  ques- 
tion or  offer  a  protest.^ 

So  much  has  been  written  about  the  reorganized 
Bible  School  that  little  needs  to  be  added  here.  The 
results  accomplished  in  the  Sunday  School  compare 
very  favorably  with  those  of  the  public  school 
when  we  take  into  account  the  fact  that  teachers 
in  the  former  are  volunteers  and  untrained,  that 

^A  good  substitute  for  such  a  service  is  a  quiz  club 
after  the  sermon.  Let  the  congregation  be  asked  to  re- 
main and  discuss  what  has  been  said.  Then  the  minister 
can  say  much  in  an  intimate  fashion  that  he  could  not 
say  in  the  sermon,  and  answer  questions.  The  result  will 
be  a  better  understanding  and  closer  sympathy  between 
the  preacher  and  the  people. 


REORGANIZING  THE   CHURCH    SERVICES         189 

they  have  but  a  bare  half -hour  a  week  v^Ith  their 
classes,  and  that  they  haven't  the  cooperation  of  the 
parents  as  have  the  day  school  teachers.  But  there 
is  yet  much  to  be  desired  in  the  direction  of  effi- 
ciency. In  some  parts  of  the  country  the  children 
are  given  the  worst  hour  of  the  day,  from  twelve 
to  one,  an  hour  when  no  classes  are  held  in  the 
public  schools  or  the  college.  The  church  may  be 
spending  from  two  to  four  thousand  dollars  a  year 
for  music,  but  should  a  salaried  superintendent  or 
trained  teachers  be  asked  for  it  would  be  set  down 
as  extravagance.  The  most  certain  way  of  reaching 
the  masses  of  people  outside  of  the  church  is 
through  the  children.  Let  the  children  be  reached 
and  interested  and  the  church  problem  for  the  next 
generation  is  solved.  A  less  niggardly  policy  must 
certainly  be  adopted,  and  the  Bible  School  must 
have  trained  and  efficient  leadership.  As  school 
children  have  Saturday  for  rest  the  time  of  the 
Sunday  School  might  very  properly  be  increased 
to  an  hour  and  a  half  or  two  hours  in  the  after- 
noon and  the  session  made  to  produce  consecutive 
and  permanent  impressions  on  the  life  of  the  child. 
The  week-night  meeting  is  the  most  difficult  prob- 
lem to  deal  with  because  its  function  is  less  clearly 
defined.  The  Sunday  morning  service  is  for  Chris- 
tian culture,  with  its  main  dependence  upon  social 
worship  and  the  sermon  which  should  be  both  edu- 
cational and  inspirational.  The  Sunday  School  is 
also  cultural  by  way  of  Bible  study.  The  Sunday 
evening  service  is  for  purposes  of  propaganda.    But 


190       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

the  purpose  of  the  week-night  meeting  is  rather 
vague  and  uncertain. 

In  most  Roman  Catholic  and  Episcopal  churches 
provision  is  made  for  certain  week-day  services. 
These  are  for  prayer  and  praise  and  though  at- 
tended by  few  the  service  is  not  as  a  result  im- 
paired, as  the  priests  and  choir  are  the  chief  par- 
ticipants. In  most  Protestant  churches  in  America 
of  the  type  known  as  evangelical,  week-night  meet- 
ings of  a  very  different  character  are  held.  Origi- 
nally they  were  mainly  for  prayer  in  which  the 
minister  was  only  the  leader  and  guide,  but  to-day  it 
is  the  exceptional  church  in  which  such  a  service  can 
be  held  week  after  week  with  profit.  The  prayer 
meeting  had  its  origin  in  a  revival.  It  was  adapted 
for  the  expression  of  spiritual  forces  set  in  motion 
under  revival  conditions.  When  the  time  of  revival 
passed  the  church  retained  the  form  of  meeting 
which  had  been  found  useful  in  revival  times.  The 
prayer  meeting  became  institutionalized.  In  many 
quarters  the  institution  has  lost  its  spantaneity  and 
reality,  and  the  efficiency  test  requires  an  examina- 
tion of  its  present  value. 

The  question  here  raised  is  not,  however,  a  new 
one.  Years  ago  Dr.  John  Hall,  addressing  the  New 
York  Ministerial  Association  in  the  old  Fourth 
Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  said:  "The  prayer 
meeting  is  an  effort,  a  praiseworthy  effort,  yet,  I 
think,  a  futile  effort,  to  maintain  in  ordinary  times 
an  atmosphere  that  would  be  normal  only  in  re- 
vival times.     It  professes  to  speak  for  religion  on 


REORGANIZING  THE  CHURCH    SERVICES         I9I 

the  emotional  side.    If  men  are  deeply  and  strongly 
emotional   by  nature,   and   if,   being  of  that  tem- 
perament,   they    have    just   been    consciously    and 
soundly  converted  from  sin,  then  it  would  be  nat- 
ural  for  them  to  testify,  to  speak  out  of  a  full 
heart.    All  of  us  would  rejoice  in  this,  but  unfortu- 
nately, these  conditions  are  not  precisely  met  in  the 
average  church  prayer  meeting.     Those  who  take 
part   are   not   usually    recent   converts,    and   their 
Christian  life,  while  it  may  be  sincere,  humble  and 
tender,  is  not  a  deeply  emotional  life.    And  the  ef- 
fort to  make  it  appear  such  is  really  fraught  with 
spiritual  peril."  ^     In  the  young  church  of  Korea 
and  Africa  the  prayer  meeting  has  the  power  and 
efficiency  which  characterized  it  under  revival  con- 
ditions here  at  home,  for  there  the  atmosphere  is 
appropriate.     But  in  many  churches  here  at  home 
we  are  striving  vainly  for  a  product  without  the 
conditions  which  produce  it.     The  average  week- 
night  service  is  a  cross  between  a  college  lecture, 
a  preaching  service  and  a  prayer  meeting  proper, 
and  it  is  often  far  from  edifying.     Some  ministers 
recognize  that  they  are  failures  in  the  conduct  of 
a    week-night    meeting,    and    some    congregations 
frankly  will  not  attend  or  participate  in  such  a  meet- 
ing in  any  worthy  fashion.    The  facts  ought  to  be 
honestly   faced.     If  the  prayer  meeting   requires 
more  energy  to  keep  it  going  than  it  contributes 

*This  comment  of  Dr.  Hall  is  quoted  from  memory  by 
the  Rev.  J.  S.  Riggs,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  refer- 
ence. 


192       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF   THE   CHURCH 

life  to  the  church,  it  is  uneconomic  and  should  be 
abandoned.  If  it  is  dreary,  perfunctory,  cold  and 
lifeless,  and  if  pastor  and  people  cannot  make  it 
otherwise,  its  continuance  is  belittling  to  the  whole 
church. 

To  relinquish  the  week-night  meeting  is  not  to 
acknowledge  defeat.  At  any  rate  it  is  better  to 
recognize  that  a  church  is  not  adapted  to  this  spe- 
cial kind  of  activity  than  to  spend  time  and  strength 
in  a  futile  effort  to  do  the  impossible.  Here  again 
we  are  in  bondage,  and  this  time  to  a  phrase.  We 
cower  under  the  saying  that  the  prayer  meeting  is 
"the  spiritual  pulse  of  the  church."  It  is  not! 
There  are  many  churches  of  great  value  to  the  com- 
munity whose  week-night  meeting  is  not  short  of 
pathetic,  and  in  every  church  of  which  I  know 
anything,  some  of  the  most  devoted  and  dependable 
and  efficient  members  cannot  be  made  to  attend  the 
prayer  meeting.  Where  the  life  and  energy  of  a 
church  can  more  easily  and  naturally  express  itself 
in  some  other  way,  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  find 
that  other  way.  A  week-night  meeting  which  is 
perpetuated  because  of  custom  and  tradition,  though 
it  fills  no  present  need,  is  a  positive  source  of 
weakness  in  the  church.  First  of  all,  we  must  free 
ourselves  from  this  feeling  that  the  mere  fact  that 
a  prayer  meeting  is  held  has  any  essential  value. 
The  value  consists  wholly  in  the  contribution  it 
makes  to  the  life  of  the  church.  That  depends  upon 
the  kind  of  meeting  that  is  held  and  upon  the  special 
characteristics  of  each  church.     In  some  churches 


REORGANIZING  THE   CHURCH    SERVICES         I93 

the  week-night  meeting  serves  a  large  purpose,  in 
others  none.  In  many  communities  it  is  more  effec- 
tive to  separate  the  sexes  when  the  minister  wishes 
to  come  into  more  close  and  intimate  touch  with 
his  people.  In  mixed  meetings  there  is  an  em- 
barrassment or  conventionalism  which  disappears 
when  men  and  women  meet  separately.  In  their 
own  societies  women  speak  out  and  one  knows  what 
they  think.  At  a  gathering  of  men  only  there  is 
reality  and  straightforwardness,  and  one  has  the 
chance  to  make  a  religious  impression  which  is  lack- 
ing in  the  mixed  gathering.  In  churches  where  the 
prayer  meeting  is  not  a  factor  in  the  church  life, 
it  should  without  hesitation  be  displaced  by  some- 
thing more  efficient.  In  some  churches  it  is  better, 
outside  of  the  services  for  public  worship,  for 
men  and  women  to  work  apart  and  without  any 
attempt  to  maintain  a  weekly  meeting  attended  by 
both  sexes. 

Second,  where  the  week-night  meeting  is  main- 
tained we  must  find  for  it  a  place  that  is  intrinsic 
to  the  life  of  the  church.  The  feeling  that  it  must 
be  held  every  week,  whether  it  meets  any  need 
or  not,  goes  far  toward  taking  the  heart  out  of  it. 
The  mere  holding  of  a  week-night  meeting  at  irreg- 
ular intervals,  whenever  the  occasion  may  suggest 
it,  would  tend  to  give  it  spontaneity  and  genuine- 
ness. If  also  it  could  be  planned  to  meet  some 
present  demand,  the  week-night  meeting  would  be- 
come vital.  But  to  preempt  one  evening  each  week 
for  the  same  small  group  and  for  the  same  kind 


194       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF   THE   CHURCH 

of  meeting  throughout  the  year  is  out  of  all  pro- 
portion. In  a  factory  there  are  times  of  the  year 
to  prepare  samples,  times  to  send  out  salesmen  and 
times  to  crowd  the  plant  to  its  full  capacity.  Could 
not  similar  seasonal  requirements  be  regarded  in 
the  week-night  meeting  ?  There  are  times  when  the 
people  need  to  assemble  for  united  prayer,  as  dur- 
ing Lent.  There  are  times  for  conference  and  plan- 
ning, as  at  the  beginning  of  the  church  year.  There 
are  times  for  thanksgiving,  times  for  confession, 
times  for  study,  times  for  the  cultivation  of  socia- 
bility. If  the  week-night  meeting  could  be  made  to 
serve  an  immediate  purpose,  to  meet  a  contempo- 
rary need,  it  would  be  far  more  sincere. 

The  assembling  of  the  people  during  the  week 
for  some  specific  and  appropriate  purpose  is  a  real 
gain.  To  concentrate  upon  one  night  of  the  week, 
and  as  far  as  possible  to  move  to  this  night  all  the 
activities  which  should  interest  the  whole  church  is 
an  immense  advantage.  All  meetings  are  religious 
which  bring  the  people  together  for  mutual  acquain- 
tance and  uplift.  A  church  social,  a  church  supper, 
a  business  meeting  of  the  congregation,  should  be  as 
religious  as  a  prayer  meeting.  By  holding  such 
meetings  as  these  on  the  Church  Night  it  would 
be  made  the  rallying  point  for  all  the  interests  of 
the  church. 

Variety  would  be  assured  if  Church  Night  were 
used  to  express  the  whole  range  of  the  church's 
interests  and  needs.  One  week  a  church  supper 
would  be  held.    Another  week  the  great  missionary 


REORGANIZING  THE   CHURCH    SERVICES         IQS 

enterprise  would  be  presented  by  the  men's  mis- 
sionary committee,  by  an  outside  speaker,  or  by 
the  women's  missionary  society.  One  night  would 
be  given  to  Bible  study  in  a  larger  way  than  is 
possible  in  Sunday  School.  Another  week  a  real 
social  gathering  of  the  church  would  take  place. 
The  next  week-night  would  be  set  apart  for  the 
study  of  social  conditions  and  a  better  understand- 
ing of  the  city's  life.  Another  would  bring  a  lec- 
ture, or  an  old-fashioned  prayer  meeting,  or  an 
entertainment,  or  preparatory  sermon  for  the  com- 
munion, and  so  on.  This  plan  would  bring  dif- 
ferent groups  of  people  to  church  of  a  week  night, 
which  is  an  advantage,  for  it  would  bind  a  larger 
number  more  intimately  to  the  church.  By  con- 
centrating all  such  activities  into  one  evening,  every 
week  of  the  month  might  be  used,  but  when  the 
actual  needs  of  the  congregation  have  been  met,  no 
eflfort  should  be  made  to  hold  every  week  in  the 
year  a  week-night  meeting  just  for  the  sake  of 
having  a  meeting.  Church  Night  must  not  be  gal- 
vanic. If  it  cannot  be  given  an  intrinsic  value  the 
week-night  meeting  were  better  given  up.  Any  in- 
stitution of  the  church  impairs  the  church's  useful- 
ness which  does  not  meet  the  test  of  efficiency.  If 
it  is  really  needed  it  can  be  made  efficient. 

In  most  congregations  there  is  a  vital  need  for  a 
greater  familiarity  with  the  Bible.  Where  it  is  not 
necessary  to  appeal  to  such  varied  interests  as  above 
suggested  in  order  to  get  the  people  to  attend,  the 
week-night  meeting  could  best  be  used  for  care- 


196       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

fully  planned  courses  of  Bible  study.  To  make  the 
work  of  the  Bible  School  more  efficient  the  teachers 
should  be  given  some  assistance  in  the  preparation 
of  the  lesson,  and  in  churches  that  do  not  have  a 
weekly  teachers'  meeting  this  might  be  done  at  the 
regular  week-night  gathering.  As  it  is  out  of  all 
proportion  to  give  two  entire  services  each  week  to 
the  study  of  the  few  verses  of  Scripture  chosen  for 
the  Bible  School  lesson,  the  best  plan  is  to  spend 
fifteen  minutes  at  the  week-night  meeting  for  the 
preparation  of  the  lesson  and  thirty  minutes  in  some 
independent  course  of  Bible  study,  the  whole  to  be 
preceded  or  followed  by  fifteen  minutes  of  devotion. 
To  understand  the  position  here  taken  with  ref- 
erence to  the  prayer  meeting  requires  in  the  reader 
considerable  openness  of  mind;  and  understanding 
does  not  mean  agreement.  The  writer  realizes  that 
there  is  a  singular  loyalty  and  disloyalty  toward 
this  historic  meeting  of  the  church.  When,  in  order 
to  bring  the  matter  to  an  issue  in  his  congregation, 
he  asked  for  a  discussion  and  vote  as  to  whether 
the  prayer  meeting  be  continued  or  discontinued, 
many  of  those  who  were  most  sure  that  it  should 
be  continued  were  persons  who  never  attend  them- 
selves. He  knows  that  in  writing  what  you  have 
just  read,  some  will  feel  that  he  has  laid  rude  hands 
on  the  ark  of  the  covenant.  It  is  just  this  feeling 
that  he  would  like  to  help  dispel.  The  week-night 
meeting,  no  matter  how  fortified  by  tradition  and 
walled  about  by  custom,  must  meet  the  efficiency 
test.     What  I  have  written  has  been  written  to 


REORGANIZING  THE   CHURCH    SERVICES         197 

rescue  ministers  and  churches  from  feeling  that  they 
are  a  failure  when  their  week-night  meeting  does 
not  come  up  to  expectations. 

I  believe  profoundly  that  the  people  of  a  church 
ought  to  meet  as  a  church  at  other  times  than  on 
Sunday.  The  Sunday  services  are  too  formal  to 
serve  as  a  medium  of  expression  for  all  the  life  of 
the  church.  We  liken  non-episcopal  churches  to  a 
family  and  speak  of  the  church  as  our  church  home, 
but  the  Sunday  services  of  public  worship  corre- 
spond to  nothing  in  the  family  life — not  even  the 
family  altar  which  is  still  set  up  in  some  homes.  A 
properly  conducted  week-night  meeting  is  the  near- 
est approach  to  the  intimate  and  reciprocal  life  of 
the  family.  Public  worship  is  too  impersonal.  The 
congregation  may  become  somewhat  acquainted 
with  the  soul  of  the  minister  on  Sunday,  for  the 
pulpit  is  the  preachers'  confessional,  but  there  is 
little  chance  for  spiritual  comradeship  with  one  an- 
other. I  know  that  we  find  it  increasingly  difficult 
to  talk  with  one  another  about  the  things  of  the 
spirit,  because  of  a  growing  dislike  for  insincerity 
and  cant.  There  have  been  some  hypocrisy  and 
assumption  of  superiority  and  spiritual  immodesty 
in  the  prayer  meeting.  Things  have  been  said  that 
weren't  true  or,  if  true,  shouldn't  have  been  said, 
and  prayers  which  were  known  not  to  be  the  ex- 
pression of  a  devoted  life  have  deterred  others  from 
public  prayer.  The  dread  of  cant  has  led  many 
actually  to  disguise  their  feelings.  Nevertheless,  I 
am  convinced  that  we  are  greatly  the  losers  because 


198       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

we  are  such  strangers  to  one  another  In  the  things 
of  the  spirit.  Most  of  our  conversation  is  about 
commonplace  themes.  Malachi  could  not  say  to- 
day :  "They  that  feared  the  Lord  spoke  often  one 
to  another.*'  ^  We  do  not  speak  to  one  another  out 
of  our  experience  of  God.  We  Christians  are  a 
bit  ashamed  of  God,  as  the  Mohammedan,  for  ex- 
ample, is  not.  Very  seldom  do  we  talk  about  God 
and  of  what  He  desires  of  us.  Real  conversation, 
which  is  a  great  commerce  of  soul  with  soul,  is 
almost  a  lost  art.  On  the  common  levels  we  talk 
readily  enough;  on  the  high  levels  we  walk  silent 
and  alone.  Our  best  friends  are  spiritually  strangers 
to  us.  We  know  each  other  after  the  flesh  but  not 
after  the  spirit. 

Now  this  is  a  sad  loss,  for  all  need  sympathy 
and  understanding  and  comradeship  in  the  big  things 
of  life.  We  must  therefore  domesticate  religion, 
humanize  It.  We  ought  to  talk  more  about  the 
things  of  God.  An  old  rabbi  said:  "If  two  sit 
together  and  speak  not  of  the  law  then  they  are  a 
company  of  mockers  of  whom  it  is  said,  'Sit  not 
where  the  mockers  sit' ;  but  If  two  sit  together  and 
speak  of  the  law  then  Is  the  Sheklnah  present  with 
them."  In  ordinary  conversation  we  ought  to  speak 
easily  and  naturally  of  the  things  of  the  spirit,  but 
certainly  in  the  church  there  should  be  real  religious 
fellowship.  The  week-night  gathering  is  the  time 
par  excellence  for  the  cultivation  of  religious  fel- 
lowship.   And  if  we  have  no  great  experience  of 

*  Malachi  3:16. 


REORGANIZING  THE   CHURCH   SERVICES         I99 

which  we  can  talk,  then  through  the  practice  of 
prayer  and  the  study  of  the  Bible — the  great  litera- 
ture of  the  spirit — and  the  culture  of  our  own  souls, 
we  should  learn  that  *'fear  of  the  Lord"  out  of 
which  we  may  "speak  often  one  to  another." 


CHAPTER   III 

A  MODERN   PROPAGANDA  FOR  THE  OLD  FAITH 

The  psychology  which  lies  back  of  the  revival 
idea  is  absolutely  correct.  Conversion  is  the  break- 
ing of  old  life  habits  and  the  forming  of  new 
and  better  ones.  A  man's  relation  to  Christ  depends 
on  moral  considerations  rather  than  intellectual 
ones,  and  to  become  a  Christian  means  not  to  think 
differently  so  much  as  to  live  differently.  There 
are  few  men  who  do  not  in  their  hearts  believe 
that  the  Christian  way  of  living  is  the  best,  who 
do  not  really  mean  some  day  to  commit  them- 
selves to  it.  But  many  are  like  a  ship  outside  the 
harbor  which  draws  too  much  water  to  get  over  the 
sandbar.  Something  keeps  them  from  a  definite  de- 
cision. A  high  tide  of  religious  feeling  is  often  need- 
ed to  lift  them  over  the  difficulty.  This  impetus  is 
supplied  in  a  revival  meeting  where  feeling  runs 
higher  than  usual  and  it  is  certainly  legitimate  to 
make  use  of  these  waves  of  feeling  since  the  decision 
is  in  the  right  direction.  Under  emotional  stress 
men  arrive  at  the  decision  which  they  have  desired 
to  make  but  were  kept  from  by  timidity  or  evil 
habits  or  inertia. 

That  revival  experiences  have  in  them  an  element 
of   suddenness   is  what   the  psychologist  expects. 

200 


MODERN   PROPAGANDA   FOR  THE  OLD  FAITH      201 

This  element  of  suddenness  belongs  to  every  spirit- 
ual rebirth,  as  to  every  physical  birth;  there  is  a 
moment  at  which  the  new  being  is,  before  which 
it  was  not.  The  soul  does  not  expand  by  arith- 
metical or  geometrical  progression.  For  long 
stretches  in  the  life  of  the  soul  there  seems  to  be  no 
change,  and  then  under  the  right  sort  of  stimulus 
it  makes  a  plunge  forward;  a  new  resolution  is 
formed,  a  new  choice  arrived  at,  a  new  ideal  set 
up,  and  a  new  era  entered  upon. 

The  religious  life  is  just  as  natural  as  the  in- 
tellectual and  develops  by  growth,  but  both  the 
religious  and  the  intellectual  life  have  their  new 
beginnings  in  a  definite  decision.  If  the  intellectual 
life  is  to  grow  beyond  what  we  may  call  natural 
culture,  that  is  the  culture  which  one  acquires  inci- 
dentally in  the  very  business  of  living,  it  must 
start  with  a  decision.  If  one  is  to  be  an  educated 
man  he  must  first  make  up  his  mind  to  be  such,  and 
he  is  greatly  helped  by  making  a  "profession"  to 
that  end,  that  is  by  enrolling  as  a  student  and 
matriculating  in  some  school  or  college.  So  en- 
trance into  a  vitally  religious  life  depends  upon 
definite  volition.  One  must  "strive"  to  enter  into 
the  Kingdom  of  heaven  as  into  the  kingdom  of 
culture. 

But  if  the  break  with  the  past  is  to  be  permanent, 
one  must  be  carried  beyond  the  point  of  decision. 
For  the  forming  of  new  life  habits  Professor  James 
lays  down  this  as  the  first  and  most  important 
maxim :  launch  yourself  with  "as  strong  and  decided 


202       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

an  initiative  as  possible."  Here  is  the  psychological 
principle  upon  which  the  revival  is  based.  By  defi- 
nite and  repeated  emphasis  and  by  holding  an  idea 
long  enough  before  the  attention,  a  decision  is  won, 
a  resolution  is  formed.  The  impression  made  must 
then  be  set,  the  resolution  must  be  fixed.  The  new 
impulse  will  carry  one  farther  if  it  is  expressed  in 
some  act.  So  the  evangelist  gets  men  on  their 
feet  or  into  an  inquirers'  room,  or  to  do  anything 
which  will  translate  the  decision  into  an  action.  It 
is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  get  the  man  who 
would  break  with  his  past  to  commit  himself  irre- 
trievably to  the  Christian  way.  He  must  reinforce 
his  resolution  by  some  act  that  will  lay  on  him  the 
necessity  to  do  more.  He  is  more  sure  not  to 
retreat  from  his  purpose  if,  like  Caesar  in  Gaul,  he 
burns  his  bridges  behind  him. 

The  revival  meeting,  like  the  political  campaign,  is 
not  only  for  the  winning  of  new  recruits ;  it  is  to 
increase  the  interest  and  heighten  the  loyalty  of 
those  who  already  ''belong."  Those  who  have 
grown  sluggish  and  indifferent  must  be  stimulated. 
The  evangelistic  campaign  is  as  necessary  for  both 
purposes  as  the  political  campaign. 

All  this  to  show  how  heartily  the  writer  believes 
in  the  principle  of  the  revival. 

But  the  revival  as  it  is  to-day  serves  but  the 
one  purpose,  to  stimulate  church-goers.  As  a 
method  of  propaganda  the  revival  has  come  to  be  a 
failure.  Even  the  highly  organized  evangelistic 
campaigns  of  the  present  time  do  not  reach  those 


MODERN    PROPAGANDA   FOR  THE   OLD   FAITH      20^ 

they  are  intended  to  reach.  To  get  the  ear  of  the 
"unconverted"  requires  a  man  of  almost  hypnotic 
powers  Hke  Dwight  L.  Moody,  or  of  great  eccen- 
tricity like  Sam  Jones  or  Billy  Sunday.  But 
Moodys  are  few  and  imitations  of  Jones  or  Sunday 
are  caricatures.  The  average  evangelist  spends  his 
time  calling  the  righteous  to  repentance.  Many  of 
them  are  in  sad  enough  need  of  repentance,  but  he 
does  not  know  what  it  means  for  "the  righteous" 
to  repent.  His  training  does  not  fit  him  to  lead 
in  the  great  movement  for  social  readjustment.  His 
message  does  not  stir  the  social  conscience  and 
deepen  the  sense  of  civic  responsibility  in  those  he 
gets  together,  and  the  revival  method  has  almost 
collapsed. 

So  inadequate  is  the  method  that  the  noble  word 
"evangelism"  has  fallen  into  disrepute.  Most 
church  men  will  throw  up  their  hands  helplessly 
when  asked  to  take  part  in  evangelistic  work.  We 
need  not  only  a  new  method  but  a  new  terminology. 
A  convenient  and  suitable  word  appears  at  the 
head  of  this  chapter,  Propaganda.  It  is  a  popular 
term.  Its  meaning  is  clear.  It  isn't  used  in  the 
narrow  sense  in  which  the  far  grander  word  evan- 
gelism has  come  to  be  used.  It  does  not  suggest  to 
the  church  worker  what  seems  to  him  an  impos- 
sible task  and  strikes  no  resentment  from  the  breast 
of  the  unevangelized. 

Our  propaganda  work  has  already  taken  us  out- 
side the  churches.  If  the  people  will  not  come 
to  church  the  Gospel  message  must  be  carried  to 


204       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

them.  Shop-meetings  held  at  the  noon  hour  when 
the  men  and  women  have  had  their  lunch,  are  the 
latest  development.  I  have  spoken  with  some  satis- 
faction at  shop-meetings  and  I  know  the  devotion 
of  shop-workers.  But  it  is  bad  psychology  to  carry 
on  a  propaganda  after  this  method.  The  shop 
speaker  has  to  overcome  mental  hostility  in  his 
audience.  The  question  at  once  arises  in  the  mind 
of  the  workmen,  Why  is  he  here?  Who  invited 
him?  Who  sent  him?  The  audience  will  be  cour- 
teous and  respectful  and  the  speaker  may  have  their 
attention  and  interest,  but  he  will  have  to  win  it. 
Certainly  no  shop-meeting  should  be  held  unless 
the  request  for  it  come  from  the  workmen  them- 
selves. It  may  be  necessary  to  put  it  up  to  the 
men  indirectly,  but  they  should  apparently  take  the 
initiative.  No  meeting  should  be  held  in  a  factory 
solely  by  permission  of  the  proprietor  or  superin- 
tendent. 

It  takes  a  very  adroit  speaker  to  overcome  the 
handicap  of  a  meeting  in  a  shop.  The  men  and 
women  are  in  their  working  clothes,  and  working 
clothes  are  the  badge  of  a  class.  Before  they  go  on 
the  street  they  lay  off  their  overalls  and  remove  all 
marks  of  toil,  which  shows  that  they  meet  the  out- 
sider more  easily  when  they  aren't  dressed  in  over- 
alls. In  America  the  worker  prefers  to  have  on 
street  garb  when  he  meets  others  than  his  factory 
mates.  My  best  friends  among  the  craftsmen  seem 
a  little  embarrassed  when  I  run  across  them  in 
their  working  clothes,  just  as  no  woman  likes  to 


MODERN   PROPAGANDA  FOR  THE  OLD  FAITH      205 

be  seen  by  callers  when  dressed  for  the  kitchen. 
If  it  were  put  to  a  vote  whether  any  visitors  should 
be  shown  through  the  factory  or  not,  the  opera- 
tives would  always  vote  against  it.  Much  less  do 
they  want  visitors  at  the  place  where  they  work 
who  come  to  preach  to  them  and  to  do  them  good. 

We  must  go  to  the  people,  must  find  them  where 
they  are,  but  it  is  much  better  psychology  to  go  to 
them  on  the  streets,  in  the  parks,  or  at  public  re- 
sorts, even  though  we  may  have  to  compete  with 
more  noise  or  greater  distractions.  They  are  at  a 
disadvantage  in  the  factory.  They  aren't  dressed  as 
we  are.  They  can't  get  away.  They  are  under 
constraint  as  unwilling  hosts.  They  haven't  time 
to  answer  back.  They  probably  have  the  feeling 
that  they  are  being  treated  as  a  class,  that  they  are 
victims  of  a  benevolent  hold-up,  that  they  are  be- 
ing talked  down  to.  On  the  street,  in  a  public  park 
or  hall  they  are  not  classified.  They  meet  their 
fellows  as  equals.  And  they  can  run  if  they  want 
to.  Therefore  they  are  much  more  ready  to  listen 
with  an  open  mind. 

Every  propaganda  depends  for  its  success  on  its 
ability  to  create  the  impression  that  it  is  disinter- 
ested, and  this  is  where  most  propagandists  fail. 
Chambers  of  Commerce  to-day  are  working  for  the 
well-being  of  the  whole  community,  realizing  that 
the  interests  of  the  employer  and  employee  are  at 
bottom  one,  but  the  workers  are  incredulous.  Al- 
most every  effort  of  these  organizations  made  up 
largely  of  business  men  is  by  the  laboring  people 


206       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

received  with  suspicion,  and  they  are  popularly- 
dubbed  "Chambers  of  Horrors."  Many  of  the 
working  group  are  inhospitable  even  to  the  "safety 
first"  crusade  and  are  slow  to  cooperate,  because 
they  think  of  it  as  primarily  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
tecting the  employer  who  is  now  being  made  liable 
for  accidents.  A  new  banner  was  borne  in  the 
Labor  Day  parades  of  the  year  1914  with  this  de- 
vice, "We  object  to  physical  examinations."  Most 
of  the  men  in  line  were  fit  and  could  stand  any 
physical  test,  but  they  object  to  what  seems  to  them 
a  new  means  for  the  elimination  of  the  less  fit  from 
industry  and  the  consequent  increase  of  non-em- 
ployment. 

Nor  does  the  church  escape  the  same  suspicion 
of  having  self-interest  at  stake.  We  are  flatly 
charged  with  the  commercial  spirit  and  it  is  said  that 
our  first  concern  is  to  build  up  an  organization  and 
swell  our  revenues.  Those  we  want  to  reach  with 
our  propaganda  do  not  understand  us  and  even  if 
they  give  us  a  hearing  they  are  not  easily  to  be  per- 
suaded. Our  first  problem  is  to  convince  men  that 
we  are  disinterested.  Not  since  the  Civil  War  were 
men  so  serious  and  solemn  as  now,  and  our  evan- 
gelism will  succeed  if  we  make  folks  understand 
that  its  object  is  to  conserve  human  life  and  char- 
acter and  to  improve  the  morality  and  the  general 
well-being  of  the  community.  Our  good  news  must 
be  told  as  if  it  were  valuable  to  those  who  hear  and 
not  as  if  their  acceptance  of  our  message  might 
prove  of  value  to  the  church  we  represent. 


MODERN   PROPAGANDA   FOR  THE  OLD  FAITH      207 

The  gospel  which  all  the  welfare  agencies  and 
the  "safety  first"  crusaders  are  preaching  will  be 
heard  and  heeded  if  they  make  men  realize  their 
disinterestedness.  If  therefore  all  the  welfare  agen- 
cies, with  their  genuine  zeal  for  human  conservation 
and  their  various  contributions  to  the  "way  of  sal- 
vation," if  all  the  forces  for  the  prevention  and  re- 
demption of  human  waste  were  to  combine  for 
propagandic  purposes,  they  would  help  one  another 
to  be  understood.  To  link  together  the  propaganda 
of  the  physician,  the  dentist,  the  social  worker,  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  church  would  con- 
stitute an  evangelism  which  would  be  statesmanlike, 
constructive  and  effective.^ 

The  noon-hour  in  the  shop  could  be  made  use  of 
for  such  a  campaign  without  the  psychological  ob- 
jections above  mentioned,  if  on  successive  days  men 
would  speak  of  tuberculosis,  religion,  venereal  dis- 
ease, the  care  of  the  teeth,  the  menace  of  the  fly, 
the  loan-shark  evil,  domestic  art  and  such  like.  It 
would  be  very  easy  to  interest  the  men  of  one  or 
two  shops  in  shop  meetings  of  such  general  char- 
acter and  soon  all  the  shops  would  be  demanding 
them.  The  result  would  be,  in  my  judgment,  that 
the  larger  and  better  shops  would  have  special 
physicians  whose  business  it  is  to  examine  all  the 
employees,  to  see  that  they  are  given  the  kind  of 
employment  which  will  not  aggravate  some  present 
physical  weakness  and  to  safeguard  their  health,  as 
is  now  the  case  in  some  factories.     Also  I  believe 

^This  program  is  now  being  tried  out  in  Rochester. 


208       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

that  in  many  shops  the  men  would  select  some  min- 
ister to  be  the  counsellor  and  friend  of  the  shop, 
to  whom  they  could  go  for  help  in  their  personal 
and  family  problems.  But  without  some  such  al- 
liance of  all  the  better  forces  of  the  community, 
gospel  shop  meetings  will  be  successful  only  in  spots. 

Our  evangelism  must  differ  from  these  other 
forms  of  evangelism  in  the  degree  of  the  passion 
back  of  it.  The  dentist  cares,  the  man  fighting  con- 
tagious disease  cares,  the  safety-first  worker  cares, 
the  social  purity  crusader  cares ;  we  must  care  more. 
In  so  far  as  a  healthy  soul  is  more  important  than 
a  sound  body  and  an  unclean  spirit  is  more  to  be 
dreaded  than  tuberculosis,  in  so  far  must  we  be 
more  passionately  in  earnest  than  they.  The 
churches  must  make  men  feel  that  they  care.  Many 
persons,  especially  among  the  poor,  fancy  that  the 
church  doesn't  care,  and  there  is  but  one  thing  which 
can  change  their  feeling:  men  and  women  in  the 
church  whose  hearts  ache  with  love  and  understand- 
ing and  sympathy  for  every  brother  man  and  sister 
woman,  even  the  drunkard  and  the  woman  of  the 
street.  We  can  win  for  God  those  for  whom  we 
care  as  Jesus  did.  It  is  passion  that  reaches  the 
human  heart  and  saves  the  world. 

The  best  opportunity  for  people's  meetings  is  the 
place  which  they  have  come  to  of  their  own  voli- 
tion and  can  leave  at  will.  The  church  must  resort 
to  street  preaching  if  it  would  reach  the  masses,  and 
the  success  of  such  meetings  will  be  assured  if  com- 
bined with  similar  meetings  by  other  welfare  work- 


MODERN   PROPAGANDA   FOR  THE  OLD   FAITH      20g 

ers.  It  is  not  enough  for  one  or  two  ministers  to 
use  this  method,  for  they  will  be  penalized  by  that 
desperate  epithet  "sensational";  all  the  ministers 
must  be  at  it.  To  do  the  work  effectively  we  need 
twice  as  many  lay-preachers  as  ordained,  but  the 
ordained  men  must  be  used  in  order  to  show  that 
the  church  itself  has  entered  upon  a  determined 
campaign  of  propaganda. 

The  Socialists  are  more  intelligent  propagandists 
than  we  churchmen.  They  hold  noon  meetings  in 
connection  with  shops,  as  do  other  political  parties, 
but  never  inside.  The  men  come  and  Hsten  on  their 
own  volition.  The  most  successful  propaganda 
work  of  the  socialists  is  not  through  meetings ;  it  is 
by  the  use  of  literature  and  by  personal  appeal. 
Tons  of  literature  are  sent  through  the  mails  and 
handed  out  in  person  and  left  under  front  doors. 
Literature  is  distributed  in  shops  at  noon  when  the 
men  have  a  few  minutes  to  read  it,  but  they  do  not 
feel  invaded,  for  they  can  throw  it  away  when  the 
propagandist  has  turned  his  back.  In  the  political 
campaign  of  191 2,  all  parties  distributed  their  litera- 
ture in  trains  and  steamboats,  and  the  travelers  be- 
ing at  leisure  almost  always  looked  the  leaflets  over 
with  care.  The  old-fashioned,  sentimental  "tract" 
would  be  useless  for  propagandic  purposes,  but  liter- 
ature could  be  prepared  that  would  be  thought-com- 
pelling and  convincing. 

An  admirable  object  lesson  in  propaganda  is  that 
of  the  child  welfare  workers.  In  New  York  and 
Chicago  and  other  large  cities  exhibits  have  been 


210      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

given  showing  conditions  under  which  children  are 
born  and  brought  up,  and  are  forced  to  earn  their 
daily  bread.  In  actual  portrayals,  in  pictures  and 
charts  and  diagrams  the  evangel  of  child  welfare 
was  set  before  the  eye.  Two  hundred  thousand 
people  sometimes  went  through  those  exhibits  in  a 
single  day.  The  propaganda  was  brought  home  to 
the  people,  and  in  a  convincing,  unforgetable  way. 
What  lectures  and  books  could  not  do  the  exhibit 
succeeded  in  doing.  That  is  scientific  propaganda. 
Some  such  machinery,  modern  and  efficient,  must 
be  invented  to  propagate  the  message  of  the  church. 
The  nearest  approach  to  it  is  the  missionary  exhibit 
brought  to  America  from  England.  This  is  the 
most  effective  piece  of  machinery  used  by  the 
church  since  the  morality  play.  It  gets  the  mission- 
ary propaganda  to  people  who  do  not  hear  sermons 
or  read  books. 

When  it  comes  to  personal  work  even  greater 
wisdom  is  needed.  Few  persons  are  fitted  to  ap- 
proach a  man  on  religion,  and  a  bungler  here  will 
do  incalculable  harm.  It  is  only  a  specialized  kind 
of  personal  work  that  the  average  person  can  do. 
While  it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  delicacy  to 
speak  to  another  about  his  relation  to  God,  anyone 
can  speak  about  the  church,  and  this  must  be  the 
basis  of  most  individual  effort.  Religion  is  a  mat- 
ter about  which  we  ought  to  talk  as  familiarly  and 
easily  as  any  other,  but  save  with  their  nearest 
friends  it  is  difficult  for  some  to  speak  of  these  more 
intimate  things.    But  there  is  no  embarrassment  in 


MODERN    PROPAGANDA   FOR   THE   OLD   FAITH      211 

Speaking  of  the  church.  Therefore  the  personal 
work  which  all  Christians  can  do  is  to  get  people 
under  the  influence  of  the  church.  A  persistent 
campaign  of  invitation  will  turn  thousands  to  the 
churches,  and  then  if  they  are  made  to  feel  gen- 
uinely welcome  they  will  stay.  In  one  church  where 
"The  Invitation  Plan"  has  been  well  worked/  the 
Men's  Club  has  been  quadrupled  and  over  two  hun- 
dred men  have  united  with  the  church  in  less  than 
three  years. 

In  the  case  of  churches  so  situated  that  there  is 
no  opportunity  for  a  propagandic  meeting,  a  hall  or 
theater  will  have  to  be  resorted  to.  The  fact  is  that 
in  most  cases  any  other  place  of  public  meeting  is 
better  for  propaganda  than  a  church.  Many  per- 
sons will  stop  and  listen  to  street  preaching,  or  will 

*This  is  how  the  plan  operates:  The  Invitation  Com- 
mittee of  the  Men's  Club  meets  with  its  chairman  and 
pastor  for  luncheon  regularly  one  day  in  each  week.  At 
the  luncheon  a  list  of  men  living  in  the  neighborhood  and 
not  attending  any  church  or  seldom  attending  this  church 
is  read  over  and  the  names  of  two  or  three  on  the  list  are 
allotted  to  each  member  of  the  committee.  Before  the 
next  weekly  luncheon  each  member  of  the  committee 
calls  upon  the  men  thus  assigned  to  him,  gets  into  per- 
sonal touch  with  them  and  invites  them  to  attend  the 
next  meeting  of  the  Club  and  the  Sunday  evening  service. 
The  utmost  care  is  exercised  by  the  committee  always  to 
extend  a  warm  and  cordial  welcome  at  the  church  to  the 
men  who  respond  to  the  invitation.  Particular  care  is 
taken  by  each  member  of  the  committee  to  encourage 
"his  men"  to  affiliate  with  some  branch  of  the  church 
activities  toward  which  their  interests  naturally  turn. 


212       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

go  into  a  hall  or  theater,  who  will  not  attend 
church.  It  may  seem  a  pity  to  hire  a  hall  for  meet- 
ings when  the  church  building  stands  idle,  but  that 
depends  on  how  much  we  desire  to  get  the  ear  of 
the  people.  We  must  take  things  as  they  are.  And 
if  we  really  want  to  do  business  with  the  people 
we  must  use  methods  that  will  get  the  business. 

A  number  of  successful  undertakings  may  be 
pointed  to  as  models  for  propagandic  purposes.^ 
The  Sunday  Evening  Meeting  in  the  famous  audi- 
torium in  Cooper  Union  was  a  pioneer.  It  isn't 
exactly  a  church  service  and  departs  considerably 
from  the  conventional  forms,  but  it  is  a  means  of 
uplift  to  those  who  attend.  The  first  half  hour  is 
given  to  music,  vocal  and  instrumental,  the  congre- 
gation singing  carefully  selected  hymns.  A  lecture 
is  give.n  by  some  invited  speaker,  who  is  then  sub- 
jected to  questions  from  the  audience.  Formerly 
the  address  was  followed  by  an  open  discussion 
from  the  floor,  but  so  many  irrelevant  speeches 
were  made  and  the  cranks  were  so  monotonous  that 
it  was  thought  of  more  value  to  confine  the  floor  to 
questions.  This  is  also  the  method  in  the  Ford 
Hall  meetings  of  Boston,  where  it  is  handled  even 
better. 

When  the  speaker  is  a  recognized  authority  or 
where  persons  are  liable  to  abuse  the  privilege,  the 

^A  pamphlet  entitled  "The  Churches  Outside  the 
Church,"  by  George  W.  Coleman,  describes  several  of 
these  undertakings.  Published  by  The  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society. 


MODERN   PROPAGANDA  FOR  THE  OLD  FAITH     213 

audience  may  wisely  be  limited  to  the  asking  of 
questions,  but  wherever  possible  free  discussion  is 
better.  What  the  people  want  is  a  chance  to  talk 
back.  Some  stay  away  from  church  because  they 
must  stay  and  be  preached  at.  They  crave  the  op- 
portunity to  express  themselves,  and  it  is  good  for 
them  to  do  so.  Often  it  tries  the  mettle  of  the 
leader,  but  it  gives  vitality  and  sincerity  to  the  meet- 
ings. The  people  at  least  understand  that  those 
in  charge  of  the  meetings  are  not  afraid.  This  wil- 
lingness to  have  the  other  side  presented  creates 
confidence  and  is  of  the  utmost  value  for  any  propa- 
ganda. The  People's  Sunday  Evening  of  Roches- 
ter has  followed  this  method  with  great  success, 
and  during  the  five  years  of  its  history  there  has 
been  almost  no  unpleasant  episode. 

In  this  propagandic  meeting,  in  order  to  catch 
the  attention  of  the  non-churchgoer,  radical  meth- 
ods should  be  used.  The  public  forum  with  a  dis- 
cussion from  the  floor  has  been  proved  by  experi- 
ence to  be  the  method  of  most  permanent  interest 
and  value  and  one  which  can  be  used  in  most  places. 
People  will  talk  if  the  subject  is  within  the  field  of 
their  experience,  into  which  religion  should  always 
be  brought.  The  stereopticon,  the  moving  picture 
machine,  the  orchestra  and  band — these  usually 
serve  to  catch  attention,  and  it  is  better  to  have  fif- 
teen minutes  in  which  to  talk  to  people  about  the 
problems  of  life  and  conduct  than  not  to  have  their 
ears  at  all. 

But  experience  has  shown  that  "attractions"  are 


214      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

not  necessary,  and  that  you  can  have  the  people's 
ear  as  long  as  you  wish.  What  people  want  is 
speaking.  The  only  attraction  that  needs  to  be 
offered  is  a  theme  in  which  they  are  vitally  inter- 
ested or  about  which  there  is  an  honest  difference 
of  opinion.  Debate  is  an  unfailing  attraction.  It 
was  the  method  used  by  the  earliest  Christian  propa- 
gandists ;  the  apostles  held  disputations  in  the  syna- 
gogues and  in  the  market-places.^  Audiences  in 
a  hall  or  theater  will  listen  to  preaching  for  an  hour 
or  an  hour  and  a  half,  particularly  if  different  opin- 
ions are  expressed  and  if  they  have  a  chance  at 
preaching  themselves,  whereas  in  a  church  thirty 
minutes  is  about  the  limit  of  a  sermon. 

Some  further  suggestions  from  the  Rochester 
People's  Sunday  Evening  may  be  helpful.  It  has 
three  ministers,  a  Baptist  theological  professor,  an 
Episcopal  rector  and  a  Presbyterian  pastor.^  These 
are  backed  by  a  Committee  of  Fifteen,  made  up  of 
business  and  professional  men  and  trade  unionists; 
fire  of  them  are  labor  leaders  and  two  are  Roman 
Catholics.  The  meetings  are  advertised  for  non- 
churchgoers  and  are  held  in  a  downtown  theater  for 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  Sunday  nights  in  the  winter. 
An  offering  is  received  each  evening,  which  pro- 
vides for  about  one-third  of  the  total  expense,  the 
rest  being  received  from  private  contributors.  In- 
strumental and  vocal  music  come  first  and  a  few 

*  Acts  17: 17. 

*Prof.     Walter     Rauschenbusch,     Rev.     James     Bishop 
Thomas,  Ph.D.,  and  the  writer. 


MODERN   PROPAGANDA   FOR  THE  OLD   FAITH      21 5 

songs  are  sung  by  the  audience.  A  variety  of  songs 
is  used,  but  the  congregational  singing  is  poor  be- 
cause it  is  a  crowd  unaccustomed  to  singing  to- 
gether. Sometimes  there  is  a  Bible  story  in  modern 
dress  and  usually  a  simple  informal  prayer  at  the 
point  in  the  meeting  which  most  suggests  it.  Most 
of  the  evening  is  spent  in  speaking,  sometimes  by 
an  out-of-town  man,  but  generally  by  the  ministers 
or  other  "home  talent."  Our  usual  practice  is  to 
have  the  subject  divided  between  several  speakers, 
or  to  have  two  or  three  related  themes  presented 
the  same  evening.  Then  follows  the  general  dis- 
cussion from  the  floor.  Perhaps  the  greatest  in- 
terest has  been  centered  in  debates  on  such  themes 
as  "Who  Can  Do  More  for  Society,  a  Religious  or 
a  Materialistic  Socialist?"  and  "Resolved,  That  on 
Economic  Grounds  It  Is  to  the  Best  Interest  of  the 
Worker  to  Oppose  the  Liquor  Business." 

I  am  frequently  asked  as  to  the  results  of  the 
enterprise,  but  they  are  not  such  as  are  reportable 
by  statistics.  Many  of  the  P.  S.  E.  fraternity  re- 
gard the  writer  as  their  pastor  and  turn  to  him  in 
sickness  or  at  death.  A  very  few  have  come  to  his 
church,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  never  ex- 
pected them  to  come  to  his  church;  it  is  too  far 
from  where  they  live  and  it  is  on  the  handsomest 
avenue  in  the  city,  where  unfortunately  they  would 
not  feel  at  home.  But  we  have  prepared  the  way 
for  the  church  and  broken  down  much  of  the  preju- 
dice that  stood  against  it.  We  meet  frankly  and 
squarely  the  criticisms  which  are  made  against  the 


2l6      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

church,  denying  nothing  that  is  true,  but  trying  to 
clear  up  misunderstandings  and  to  make  the  critics 
into  friends  of  the  church.  We  point  out  that  many 
changes  have  taken  place  in  the  church  during  the 
past  decade  and  urge  the  people  to  go  back  to  the 
church  of  their  antecedents  and  give  it  another  trial, 
Jewish,  Roman  Catholic  or  Protestant.  But  getting 
well  acquainted  with  at  least  three  ministers  they 
have  become  more  hospitable  to  organized  religion 
as  a  whole  and  more  sympathetic  as  to  the  work  the 
church  is  seeking  to  do.  We  have  helped  them  to 
think  more  clearly  and  kindly  and  more  in  the  spirit 
of  Christ.  We  have  gotten  the  gospel  to  them  in 
the  simplest  and  broadest  terms,  but  definitely 
linked  to  economic  and  industrial  and  social  and 
moral  problems  as  it  should  be.  We  have  had  to 
trust  the  seed  we  sow  to  get  its  own  harvest,  and 
we  are  not  afraid  to,  any  more  than  we  are  in  a 
church  service  where  we  can  only  sow  but  not  reap.^ 
One  by-product  of  such  meetings  would  be  the 
tonic  effect  upon  ministers  who  have  become  addict- 
ed to  conventional  sermonic  methods.  Standing  be- 
fore an  audience  of  non-churchgoers  who  are  ready 
to  thrust  questions  at  him  and  are  alert  to  talk 
back,  the  preacher  will  soon  shed  whatever  pious 
tone  and  clerical  manner  he  may  have  unconsciously 
acquired.  The  minister  has  too  few  opportunities 
of  meeting  men  on  a  free  platform  where  he  must 

*A  more  elaborate  and  most  successful  enterprise  is  the 
Sunday  Night  Club  of  Chicago.  Information  may  be  had 
from  its  founder  and  president,  Rev.  Qifford  W.  Barnes. 


MODERN   PROPAGANDA  FOR  THE  OLD  FAITH      217 

talk  to  them  on  a  level,  and  with  the  knowledge 
that  he  will  be  under  fire  as  soon  as  he  has  fin- 
ished. 

Such  a  meeting  for  propaganda  means  the  outlay 
of  money,  but  if  we  really  are  going  to  do  business 
it  will  cost  money.  It  may  appear  to  some  bad 
economy  to  leave  our  church  plants  after  the  morn- 
ing service  and  hire  another  meeting-place.  But 
economy  is  secured  in  two  ways,  either  by  keeping 
down  running  expenses  or  by  doing  a  larger  busi- 
ness per  unit  of  expense.  It  is  not  uneconomic  to 
increase  the  expense  account  by  thirty  per  cent,  if 
the  volume  of  business  done  increases  forty  per 
cent.  And  there  is  no  question  that  by  present 
methods  the  church  isn't  entering  new  territory  or 
creating  a  new  market  for  its  goods  and  enlarging 
its  business. 

It  is  usually  the  wealthy  church  which  is  so  situ- 
ated as  to  be  out  of  touch  with  the  masses  of  the 
people,  or  is  erected  by  prejudice  into  a  barrier 
against  using  its  building  for  propagandic  purposes. 
Most  churches  which  need  to  find  some  other  point 
of  contact  can  afford  to  do  so.  It  may  mean  a  less 
expensive  quartet  or  less  luxurious  church  appoint- 
ments, but  that  is  to  choose  the  more  important 
rather  than  the  less.  The  churches  which  cannot 
afford  to  rent  a  hall  or  theater  are  as  a  rule  those 
which  may  with  every  chance  of  success  use  their 
own  building  for  the  propagandic  meeting. 

It  would  be  wise  to  begin  in  smaller  communi- 
ties with  a  union  forum  once  a  month  to  learn  how. 


2l8      THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

Announce  that  the  experiment  is  to  be  made  for  a 
definite  time,  so  that  its  discontinuance  would  not 
appear  as  failure  while  its  continuance  beyond  the 
time  specified  would  appear  more  markedly  a  suc- 
cess. The  experiment  proving  successful,  all  the 
churches  might  unite  for  a  central  propagandic 
meeting  each  week,  during  some  limited  period, 
urging  their  own  people  to  stay  at  home  when  the 
audience  begins  to  fill  the  building.  In  larger  cities 
three  or  four  such  meetings  could  be  held  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  city.  In  all  such  cases  they  should 
be  as  unlike  church  meetings  as  possible,  and  the 
more  unconventional  and  informal  the  better.  The 
themes  discussed  should  be  religious  in  the  broad- 
est sense.  They  should  come  near  to  the  life  and 
problems  of  the  people.  Nothing  remote  from  their 
interest  and  foreign  to  their  thought  should  be  in- 
troduced, for  the  purpose  is  to  reach  those  who  are 
indifferent  to  the  church.  Questions  or  remarks 
from  the  floor  should  always  be  included. 

In  these  theater  meetings  it  is  wise  never  to 
"draw  the  net."  When  an  avowedly  evangelistic 
meeting  is  held  in  a  hall  or  theater  because  no 
church  is  large  enough  to  house  the  crowd,  or  when 
the  propagandic  meeting  is  held  in  a  church,  it  is 
another  matter.  But  people  go  to  the  hall  who  are 
timid  and  hesitant  about  going  to  church,  and,  if 
they  know  they  will  never  be  cornered,  they  will 
attend  more  freely  and  naturally. 

The  political  propagandist  never  draws  the  net. 
Cards  are  never  passed  for  people  to  promise  they 


MODERN   PROPAGANDA   FOR  THE  OLD   FAITH     2ig 

Will  vote  for  the  party  which  has  presented  its  case. 
The  speakers  do  their  best  but  then  leave  the  audi- 
ence to  follow  its  own  conscience  and  judgment. 
Ideas  are  trusted  to  get  results.  Names  of  voters 
are  never  secured  at  these  public  meetings  but  in 
more  personal  ways  through  the  ward  organiza- 
tions. The  public  meeting  is  for  the  sowing  of  seed. 
It  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  conduct  our  religious 
propaganda  in  the  same  way.  First  we  must  get 
men  to  hear  the  Christian  message  as  it  applies  to 
the  problems  which  they  are  forced  day  by  day  to 
consider.  When  we  have  gotten  them  to  listen  and 
to  think,  the  leaven  has  been  set  to  work.  Any 
attempt  on  the  spot  to  get  their  names  or  profession 
of  faith  would  defeat  its  own  purpose.  The  aim 
should  be  not  to  line  them  up  with  the  church,  but 
to  get  them  to  reorganize  their  life  according  to 
the  teachings  of  Jesus.  At  other  times  and  places 
they  may  be  put  on  record,  but  this  kind  of  propa- 
gandic  meeting  is  for  seed-sowing.  Let  the  people 
be  strongly  and  convincingly  shown  that  the  church 
is  an  efficient  agency  to  help  them  in  Christian  liv- 
ing, but  in  these  free-for-all  meetings  on  the  street 
or  in  the  theater  it  is  a  tactical  blunder  to  try  to 
register  results. 

The  gospel  we  preach  has  power  to  convince  and 
win.  It  must  be  preached  "to  every  creature,"  in 
our  own  cities  as  well  as  in  distant  lands.  It  is  a 
message  which  the  people  will  hear  gladly  when 
once  we  get  their  ears.  Our  problem  is  the  prob- 
lem of  distribution.    The  church  of  Christ  is  en- 


220      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

trusted  with  that  which  the  heart  of  man  needs,  and 
wants,  when  it  is  understood.  The  church  cannot 
keep  it.  Without  it  the  people  perish.  If  our  pres- 
ent methods  of  distribution  do  not  serve,  we  must 
find  those  that  will  serve. 
And  we  can  if  we  will. 


CHAPTER   IV 

COMMUNITY  SERVICE 

It  is  only  as  a  phrase  that  social  service  is  new, 
as  a  fact  it  is  as  old  as  society.  When  man  first 
realized  that  he  had  duties  and  responsibihties  to 
his  fellow-man  and  began  to  render  some  service 
which  others  needed,  then  was  the  beginning  of  so- 
ciety. What  drew  men  together  and  established 
community  of  interest  was  a  sense  of  need  of  one 
another  and  the  feeling  that  together  their  needs 
might  be  supplied.  As  already  pointed  out,  all  hon- 
est business  is  the  discovery  and  supply  of  social 
needs,^  and  religion  finds  its  expression  mainly  in 
service.^  The  Christian  interpretation  of  life  is  that 
we  are  to  live  for  one  another  and  not  for  self 
alone.  All  that  is  done  for  human  welfare  is  em- 
braced in  the  phrase  social  service,  although  it  has 
specific  reference  to  those  activities  which  are  or- 
ganized, consecutive  and  hence  effective. 

The  church  distinctively  is  a  social  service  enter- 
prise. Service  is  as  much  its  function  as  spiritual 
culture,  for  love  is  the  mainspring  of  religion  and 
love  means  serving.     Everything  the  church  does 

*  Page  32. 
'  Page  10. 

221 


222      THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

for  the  bettering  of  human  life  is  social  service. 
The  business  of  evangelism  comes  under  this  head, 
for  the  saving  of  a  man  is  the  main  social  service 
that  can  be  rendered  him.  Missions,  of  course,  are 
included,  for  the  aim  of  Christian  missions  is  the 
uplift  of  the  total  community  life.  Indeed  the 
church's  foreign  mission  enterprise  is  the  most  com- 
prehensive program  of  social  service  known  to  the 
modern  world ;  it  labors  for  better  education,  bet- 
ter care  for  the  sick,  and  better  industrial,  economic 
and  social  conditions,  as  well  as  moral  instruction 
and  spiritual  culture.  It  is  in  mission  lands  that 
the  social  passion  of  the  church  is  most  clearly  seen 
to-day.  At  home  many  of  its  functions  have  been 
turned  over  to  other  agencies.  All  the  good  work 
of  the  community  was  originally  done  by  the 
church,  the  education  of  the  young,  the  care  of  the 
sick,  the  relief  of  the  needy.  But  society  has  been 
so  Christianized  that  the  state  performs  many  of 
the  social  tasks  which  once  belonged  to  the  church. 
This  taking  over  of  the  church's  functions  is  evi- 
dence of  its  success,  not  of  its  failure.  Yet  it  is 
true  that,  having  delegated  its  old  tasks,  the  church 
has  not  yet  addressed  itself  to  new  problems  or 
adjusted  itself  to  new  tasks. 

In  consequence  the  social  welfare  workers  have 
in  large  numbers  dropped  away  from  the  church, 
a  result  which  works  harm  to  the  church  and  to 
the  other  agencies  for  social  uplift.  This  gradual 
drift  of  the  welfare  workers  from  the  church  is 
both  unreasonable  and  near-sighted,  and  the  larger 


COMMUNITY  SERVICE  223 

the  number  involved  the  more  is  the  issue  clouded. 
Some^  earnest  workers  who  spend  most  of  their 
time  in  service  and  have  little  left  for  reflection, 
haying  quit  the  church,  fancy  they  are  through  with 
religion.  ^  Unthinkingly  they  confuse  the  church 
with  religion,  and  even  when  they  are  carrying 
out  the  spirit  of  religion  they  deny  its  name  and 
lose  its  comfort;  while  on  the  other  hand  some 
church  people  with  even  less  insight  accept  this 
separation  from  the  church  as  evidence  that  the 
uplifters  are  unreligious.  Most  of  the  men  who 
have  turned  from  organized  religion  are  appealing 
all  the  time  to  religious  truths  and  motives,  and 
while  the  church  is  being  displaced  in  their  thought 
they  remain  loyal  to  that  for  which  the  church 
exists. 

The  church  has  this  stake  in  the  situation:  it 
cannot  permit  the  impression  to  continue  that  so- 
cial service  is  something  apart  from  its  task,  be- 
cause the  religious  impulse  dies  unless  it  functions 
in  social   relationships  and  because   it  is  only  in 
service  that  personal  religion  can  find  adequate  ex- 
pression.    The  welfare  worker  has  this  at  stake: 
the  church  is  the  greatest  organization  in  the  field 
to-day,  and  its  members  have  in  large  numbers  been 
infected  by  the  new  social  feeling  and  are  ready 
to  be  brought  into  action.     Immense  social  forces 
are  in  readiness  in  the  church,  and  social  welfare 
would  in  the  long  run  be  most  profoundly  pro- 
moted if  the  welfare  workers  turned  from  their 
immediate  task  and  for  five  years  gave  their  time 


224      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

and  strength  to  organizing  and  directing  the  social 
service  resources  of  the  church.  So,  on  every 
ground  this  confusion  and  misunderstanding  ought 
to  be  removed. 

There  are  still  many  smaller  communities  where, 
apart  from  state  institutions,  the  church  is  the  only 
agency  organized  for  social  service.  There  are 
larger  communities  where  the  church  has  vast  re- 
sources of  Christian  personality  which  are  not  em- 
ployed in  existing  agencies.  In  either  case  there 
should  be  a  new  emphasis  on  social  service,  and  an 
earnest  effort  to  meet  the  church's  opportunity  and 
responsibility.  With  all  that  is  being  done,  the 
needs  of  society  are  not  yet  provided  for,  and  there 
are  cogent  reasons  why  the  church  should  be  more 
diligent  and  intelligent  in  serving  the  community. 

First,  as  has  been  said,  the  church  for  many  lacks 
credentials.  They  do  not  know  what  it  is  here 
for.  They  are  not  aware  that  the  church  exists  for 
the  community — a  fact  which  some  in  the  church 
seem  to  have  forgotten.  The  church  has  for  large 
sections  of  our  cities'  population  dropped  out  of 
the  field  of  consciousness.  More  brilliant  preachers 
would  not  bring  it  to  the  attention  of  the  masses  of 
non-churchgoers ;  for  them,  our  most  distinguished 
divines  are  not  even  a  name.  Magnificent  buildings 
will  not  attract  them;  for  many  in  New  York,  the 
new  library,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  buildings  in 
the  world,  does  not  exist.  Fine  music  would  be 
useless  for  the  purpose ;  for  many  more,  the  Metro- 
politan Opera  House  has  no  existence,  and  would 


COMMUNITY  SERVICE  225 

not  have  were  it  as  free  as  the  library.  The  church 
must  undertake  some  new  enterprise  if  it  would 
be  even  taken  into  account  by  the  bulk  of  people 
in  our  large  cities. 

Of  course  if  Christian  folk  were  truly  Christian 
— if  they  were  unselfish  and  glad  and  single-heart- 
ed as  Jesus  was — they  could  not  escape  notice. 
Like  the  infant  church  in  Jerusalem,  such  a  group 
of  Christians  would  find  "favor  with  all  the  peo- 
ple." Real  religion  is  its  own  advertisement  and 
credential.  But  religion  is  a  spirit,  not  a  program, 
and  I  am  discussing  the  church's  program.  I  am 
convinced  that  next  to  the  Spirit  of  Christ  nothing 
will  so  completely  and  convincingly  bring  the 
church  into  the  world  where  the  people  Hve  and 
struggle  and  die  as  an  adequate  program  of  com- 
munity service.  Let  the  church  demonstrate  that 
it  exists  not  for  itself  but  for  the  community 
and  the  people  will  at  once  begin  to  reckon  with  it. 

So  far  as  the  organization  goes,  the  church  made 
its  great  blunder  when  it  relinquished  its  fraternal 
character  and  left  the  matter  of  practical  helpful- 
ness to  the  lodge  or  labor  union  or  philanthropic 
society.  It  means  too  little  for  a  man  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  the  church  nowadays.  The  old  charge  that 
men  joined  the  church  for  selfish  reasons  is  re- 
versed to-day.  Usually  one  prefers  a  lawyer  or 
merchant  or  milkman  who  is  not  in  his  church,  for 
every  new  social  relationship  complicates  business 
relations.  When  one  is  in  financial  trouble  he  goes 
by  preference  to  some  person  not  connected  with 


226      THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

his  church,  for  he  doesn't  want  his  trouble  known 
by  the  social  circle  with  whom  he  worships.  For 
some  kinds  of  distress  they  do  not  even  go  to  their 
pastor,  because  he  belongs  to  the  same  social  group. 
In  their  personal  grief,  when  sickness  or  death 
come  to  their  family  they  make  use  of  the  minister, 
but  in  the  case  of  private  sin  or  business  trouble, 
or  any  matter  in  which  they  are  to  blame,  they  are 
too  apt  to  stay  away.  Outsiders  come  to  him  at 
such  times  more  easily  than  his  own  parishioners. 
On  this  account  the  Protestant  minister  is  at  a 
great  disadvantage  as  compared  with  the  Roman 
Catholic  priest.  Without  any  fault  of  his  own  he 
is  a  victim  of  the  social  quality  the  church  has 
taken  on.  Men  now  turn  to  the  fraternal  order  for 
help.  In  trouble  they  go  to  their  brother  in  the  se- 
cret society  or  labor  union ;  and  where  their  help  is 
there  will  their  heart  be  also.  So  some  people  have 
come  to  set  more  store  by  the  fraternity  than  by 
the  church.  It  is  not  society  they  want  but  friend- 
ship, not  acquaintances  but  brothers. 

The  most  effective  organization  in  the  country  is 
Tammany  Hall.  What  is  the  secret  of  its  power? 
The  fact  that  it  puts  men  under  the  feeling  of  obli- 
gation for  service  rendered  in  some  time  of  need. 
It  began  as  a  charitable  society,  a  fraternal  organi- 
zation. No  man  in  trouble  ever  went  to  Tammany 
Hall  in  vain.  It  willingly  does  a  good  turn  for 
whoever  has  need.  It  asks  for  no  credentials  and 
says  nothing  of  pay.  It  lends  a  helping  hand  and 
leaves  the  return  to  every  man's  sense  of  obliga- 


COMMUNITY  SERVICE  227 

tion.  So  men  are  bound  body  and  soul  to  Tam- 
many Hall  by  a  feeling  of  gratitude  and  honor. 
Now  suppose  that  the  church  of  Christ  should  do 
disinterestedly  and  for  humanity's  sake  what  Tam- 
many Hall  does  for  sinister  reasons !  Suppose  that 
in  every  city  and  town  there  were  an  institution, 
founded  and  supported  in  the  name  of  the  church, 
which  advertised  after  this  fashion:  "Open  day 
and  night,  to  help  any  person,  in  any  kind  of  trou- 
ble." How  long  would  it  be  before  the  miserable, 
the  suffering,  the  friendless,  and  even  the  under- 
world would  be  reckoning  in  the  church  as  one  of 
the  assets  of  the  community's  life !  How  long  would 
it  be  before  the  unconcerned  and  heedless  would  be 
taking  account  of  it!  The  church  would  leap  into 
the  very  center  of  the  field  of  consciousness  for 
many  who  had  forgotten  its  existence.^ 

Even  if  the  church  could  get  back  into  the  field 
of  consciousness  of  the  non-churchgoer  without  a 
program  for  community  service,  what  could  such  a 
church  do  for  those  who  most  need  the  way  of  liv- 
ing it  is  set  to  teach  ?  Many  of  those  to  whom  the 
church  ought  to  be  an  inspiration  and  comfort  and 
guide  are  living  and  working  under  conditions 
which  negative  the  church's  message  and  appeal. 

*It  takes  very  little  in  the  way  of  community  interest 
to  make  a  church  talked  about.  A  church  in  Newark, 
N.  J.,  opened  one  of  its  rooms  for  the  girls  of  a  near-by 
factory  during  the  noon  hour.  That  church  at  once  be- 
came a  marked  church  throughout  the  great  industrial 
population  of  the  city. 


22S      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

With  its  present  program  the  church  could  operate 
upon  them  for  only  an  hour  or  two  each  week,  while 
the  debasing  and  destructive  forces  of  life  are  op- 
erating upon  them  every  hour  of  the  week,  while 
they  sleep  and  wake.  Of  what  value  are  sermons 
and  anthems  to  those  who  live  in  a  slum  and  work 
in  a  sweatshop  ?  Here  is  the  second  of  the  reasons 
that  are  driving  the  church  into  more  definite  social 
service. 

At  last  we  are  realizing  the  immense  moral  ef- 
fects of  social  conditions.  Religion  has  its  physio- 
logical side.  The  psychical  and  the  physical  are 
nearly  akin.  Our  spiritual  condition  is  immediately 
modified  by  our  bodily  conditions.  There  is  a  vital 
connection  between  pure  air  that  is  undefiled  and 
pure  and  undefiled  religion.  Holiness  is  difficult 
without  oxygen.  We  do  not  expect  the  finest  types 
of  morality  among  men  and  women  who  have  to 
breathe  poisoned  air  within  the  reeking  walls  of 
overcrowded  tenements.  We  do  not  look  for  the 
beauty  of  holiness  amid  squalor  and  filth.  The 
odds  are  against  it. 

Make  a  man  clean  and  self-respecting  and  un- 
afraid, give  the  human  in  him  a  chance,  if  you  want 
the  divine  in  him  to  have  a  chance.  Rescue  him 
from  the  fear  that  his  children  may  go  hungry,  give 
him  permanent  employment,  decent  work  condi- 
tions, wholesome  housing  conditions,  and  leisure 
for  self-culture  and  play,  if  you  want  him  to  live 
the  life  of  a  child  of  God.  Improved  social  condi- 
tions may  not  inspire  the  higher  life,  but  they  open 


COMMUNITY   SERVICE  229 

the  way  to  it.     Impressed  by  the  practical  side  of 
religion,  Rothe  the  German  theologian  declares  that 
"Christ  would  be  more  interested  in  our  political 
developments  than  in  our  so-called  church  move- 
ments," and  ''that  the  discovery  of  the  steam  en- 
gine and  railways  was  of  more  value  to  His  King- 
dom than  the  Councils  of  Nicaea  and  Chalcedon." 
These  things  are  axiomatic,  for  in  our  thought  of 
the  human  body  we  have  gotten  back  to  Jesus  and 
Paul,  giving  the  body  its  proper  place,  subordinate 
to  the  spirit,  but  its  true  organ  and  medium.    The 
"new  psychology"  is  the  study  of  mind  by  way  of 
the  brain,  of  the  soul  by  way  of  the  body.    It  treats 
the  body  as  the  temple  of  the  spirit.    If  a  man  care 
not  for  the  body  which  is  seen  how  can  he  care 
for  the  soul  which  is  not  seen?    Booker  T.  Wash- 
ington says  that  he  has  found  the  toothbrush  to  be 
the    forerunner    of    civilization,    and    the    vermin 
which  infested  Thomas  a'Becket's  hairshirt  would 
no  longer  be  considered  an  additional  proof  of  his 
sanctity.    At  every  point  soul  and  body  are  recog- 
nized to  work  together  in  most  intimate  harmony. 
The  housing  of  the  poor,  the  lighting  of  the  streets, 
the  cleansing  of  the  cities,  the  extermination  of 
dirt-diseases,  the  elimination  of  fatigue  poison,  the 
closing  of  the  saloon,  the  abolishing  of  prostitution, 
and  the  total  bettering  of  physical  environment,  is 
the  work  for  the  modern  John  Baptist  who  would 
cast  up  the  highway  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 
There  is  no  break  between  the  new  evangel  and 
the  old.     Men  must  be  born  from  above,  but  the 


230      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

"holy  city  .  .  .  coming  down  out  of  heaven  from 
God"  hastens  the  spiritual  rebirth  of  the  individual 
and  assists  in  keeping  his  spirit  in  life  and  health. 
A  heaven-born  man  helps  to  change  bad  social  con- 
ditions, but  changed  social  conditions  help  to  trans- 
form the  man  whose  spiritual  growth  is  retarded 
by  an  immoral  environment.  The  evangel  of  the 
church  must  be  that  of  Jesus : 

"The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me, 

Because  He  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  to  the 
poor, 

He  hath  sent  me  to  proclaim  release  to  the  captive, 

And  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind, 

To  set  at  Hberty  them  that  are  bruised, 

To  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord."* 

The  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord  is  a  time  of 
release  to  all  who  are  bound,  whether  by  poverty 
or  disease  or  vice.  The  church  like  Jesus  must  not 
only  proclaim  it,  but  be  diligently  at  work  to  bring 
it  in. 

A  third  and  less  important  consideration  is  that 
some  new  undertaking  in  the  way  of  community 
service  is  necessary  to  stimulate  and  maintain  the 
flagging  interest  of  those  now  in  the  churches.  It 
is  going  to  be  increasingly  difficult  to  raise  church 
budgets  if  church  activities  are  confined  to  preach- 
ing services  and  a  week-night  meeting.  There  is 
plenty  of  money  for  any  enterprise  that  gets  worth- 
while results,  but  these  days  men  are  looking  upon 
a  gift  more  in  the  light  of  an  investment.    Gifts  of 

*  Luke  4 :  18,  19. 


COMMUNITY  SERVICE  23 1 

money  must  get  returns  for  the  community,  and 
high-priced  music  and  scholarly  preaching  are  not 
return  enough  for  the  investment  represented  in 
most  church  enterprises.  The  church  must  do  more 
business  if  it  is  to  keep  the  enthusiastic  support  of 
its  adherents. 

In  the  fourth  place,  the  field  of  social  service 
offers  opportunity  for  employment  to  the  army  of 
unemployed  in  all  the  churches.  "Learn  by  doing" 
is  the  new  maxim  of  education.  Christian  disciples 
have  too  little  to  do.  There  is  nothing  within  the 
church  organization  for  the  vast  majority  of  Chris- 
tians to  do  and  they  lack  initiative  to  discover  tasks 
for  themselves.  People  want  to  be  of  use,  and  mul- 
titudes are  really  looking  for  a  job.  Jobs  a-plenty 
are  to  be  found  in  every  community — real  jobs — but 
people  do  not  know  how  to  connect  with  them.  The 
church  must  revise  its  program  in  order  to  train 
its  own  people  to  become  effective  Christian  work- 
ers. "There  is  a  true  church,"  says  Ruskin,  "wher- 
ever one  hand  meets  another  helpfully,  and  that  is 
the  only  holy  and  Mother  Church  which  ever  was 
or  ever  shall  be." 

Finally,  the  obligation  of  the  church  to  serve  the 
community  is  made  unmistakable  by  the  example 
and  precept  of  Christ.  Only  a  part  of  his  time  was 
spent  in  teaching.  Some  of  his  finest  work  was 
with  individuals,  but  He  was  concerned  with  their 
bodies  and  minds  and  social  conditions,  as  well  as 
their  spirits,  and  because  of  what  physical  and  men- 
tal and  social  health  mean  for  spiritual  wholeness. 


232      THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH  1 

He  had  compassion  on  the  hungry,  the  sick,  the 
sorrowing,  and  ministered  to  them.  It  was  thus 
He  gave  body  and  convincingness  to  His  Good 
News.  And  thus  He  showed  us  how  we  are  to 
please  God  and  do  His  will. 

Whenever  Jesus  gave  any  account  of  what  it 
means  to  be  religious,  He  did  it  in  a  story  which  is 
really  a  program  of  social  service.  I  need  cite  but 
two  of  these  stories,  one  the  parable  of  the  Good 
Samaritan,^  like  whom  we  are  commanded  to  be 
and  to  do.  The  story  grew  out  of  the  question, 
"Master,  what  shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life?" 
and  we  would  expect  the  answer  to  be  a  somewhat 
comprehensive  statement  of  right  living,  an  account 
of  the  kind  of  life  which  is  like  God's  afid  is  worthy 
of  immortality — what  in  theologic  phrase  is  called 
the  plan  of  salvation.    And  what  is  His  answer? 

He  reaffirms  the  two  great  commandments, 
'Thou  Shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God"  and  "Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor."  These  two  command- 
ments stand  together  and  alone,  the  second  being 
"like  unto"  the  first.  The  commandments  thus 
singled  out  and  identified  set  personal  religion  and 
social  responsibility  side  by  side,  and  Jesus  makes 
clear  that  the  absence  of  the  latter  leaves  the  former 
imperfect  and  ungrown.  The  parable,  which  is  only 
an  amplification  of  the  twin  commandments,  is  a 
matchless  statement  of  social  obligation,  and  an  ar- 
raignment of  all  religious  folk  who  are  lacking  in 
social  feeling  and  a  sense  of  responsibility  for  other 

^Luke  10:25-37. 


COMMUNITY   SERVICE  233 

folk.  The  priest,  it  may  be  believed,  was  not  a 
brutish  man,  but  a  conventionally  religious  person 
who  on  this  particular  day  was  intent  on  the  per- 
formance of  certain  ecclesiastical  functions,  with 
which  the  time  and  trouble  needed  to  rescue  the 
unfortunate  traveler  would  interfere.  He  was  in  a 
hurry  to  reach  Jerusalem,  to  officiate  perhaps  at 
some  important  religious  service,  and  he  closed  his 
eyes  to  the  need  with  which  he  was  confronted,  not 
because  he  had  no  sense  of  his  religious  duty,  but 
because  of  an  incorrect  understanding  of  it.  The 
Levite,  also  a  churchman,  represents  the  person 
who  looks  on  but  does  nothing,  who  realizes  that 
there  is  a  need  to  be  met,  but  has  no  immediately 
compelling  sense  of  obligation  in  the  matter.  Such 
a  man  is  interested  in  human  need  as  a  social  prob- 
lem but  not  as  a  religious  duty.  He  will  write 
papers  and  pass  resolutions  and  eat  big  dinners  in 
the  cause  of  human  betterment,  and  content  himself 
with  that.  But  the  Samaritan,  moved  with  compas- 
sion, saw  an  immediate  human  duty,  and  his  re- 
ligious opinions  and  business  undertakings  had  to 
be  readjusted  to  give  place  for  this  pressing  piece  of 
social  service.^    This  man  we  are  to  follow,  and  not 

*  "Nothing  can  describe  with  more  precision,"  says  Pro- 
fessor Peabody,  "the  exact  program  which  scientific 
charity  has  by  degrees  worked  out  to  guide  the  visitation 
of  the  poor — first  friendly  compassion,  then  the  relief  of 
temporary  necessity,  then  the  transfer  of  the  case  to 
restorative  conditions,  finally  the  use  of  money,  not  as 
alms  for  the  helpless,  but  to  maintain  continuity  of  re- 
lief." 


234      THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

the  others.  From  all  of  which  Jesus  leads  us  to  in- 
fer that  all  other  functions  of  the  Christian  church 
are  to  be  considered  secondary  and  contributory  to 
the  service  of  humanity  and  the  meeting  of  social 
need.    It  is  a  command :    ^'Go  and  do  thou  likewise." 

The  other  story  of  Jesus  which  weighs  heaviest 
on  this  point  is  the  so-called  Parable  of  the  Last 
Judgment/  which  is  in  reality  not  so  much  a  pic- 
ture of  the  great  assize  as  a  defense  of  humanity. 
In  effect  Jesus  says  that  every  human  is  of  such 
worth  that  whatever  is  done  for  man  is  done  for 
God.  Summarizing  the  grounds  on  which  folks  are 
^'blessed  of  My  Father"  and  the  reasons  for  which 
they  become  inheritors  of  the  Kingdom  prepared 
for  them,  He  gives  a  specific  program  of  social  ser- 
vice :  ''I  was  hungry,  and  ye  gave  me  meat ;  I  was 
thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink;  I  was  a  stranger, 
and  ye  took  me  in ;  naked  and  ye  clothed  me ;  I  was 
sick,  and  ye  visited  me;  I  was  in  prison  and  ye 
came  unto  me."  The  purpose  of  the  parable  was 
to  help  His  disciples  to  understand  what  kind  of 
earth-life  is  most  to  be  sought  because  in  essence 
it  is  heavenly,  to  set  before  all  men  the  kind  of  life 
which  has  value  for  the  universe  and  so  in  its  very 
nature  is  eternal.  Such  is  a  life  of  service  to  human 
need.    Jesus  could  not  have  been  more  definite. 

Those  honest  and  loyal  Christians  who  are  dis- 
quieted by  the  new  emphasis  on  social  service  will, 
I  am  sure,  be  less  fearful  if  they  remind  themselves 
that  the  new  social  passion  follows  Jesus.  He  says 
^  Matthew  25 :  31-46. 


COMMUNITY   SERVICE  235 

clearly  that  whatever  makes  earth  brighter  makes 
heaven  gladder ;  that  every  real  service  to  man  helps 
God.  Service  of  our  fellow  man  is  the  most  re- 
ligious act  we  can  perform,  if  it  springs  out  of  the 
feeling  that  all  are  alike  God's  children  and  the 
creatures  of  His  love  and  care.  That  man  is  living 
a  godly  life  who  ministers  in  love  to  his  fellow  men, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
social  service  to  be  Christian  must  grow  out  of  and 
be  performed  in  the  spirit  of  love  and  sympathy  and 
understanding.  A  cup  of  cold  water  is  a  sacrament 
to  our  God  if  behind  it  is  love  and  sympathy  for  the 
thirsty. 

Jesus  says  very  little  about  our  responsibility  for 
the  souls  of  men  in  the  narrow  sense  in  which  we 
have  been  accustomed  to  understand  the  phrase. 
He  keeps  us  on  more  familiar  and  easy  ground. 
He  tells  us  in  detail  of  a  ministry  that  all  can  per- 
form who  have  any  human  feeling  and  good  will; 
he  tells  us  what  God  wants  us  to  do,  in  His  spirit 
of  love,  for  the  poor,  the  unfortunate,  the  sorrow- 
ing, the  erring  and  all  the  miserable  of  the  earth. 
The  only  definite  word  He  speaks  about  our  rela- 
tion to  sin  in  the  theological  sense  is  "Whose  soever 
sins  ye  forgive  they  are  forgiven  unto  them ;  whose 
soever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained"  ;^  by  which 
He  means  that  the  great  God  is  more  loving  and 
forgiving  than  any  of  His  children,  and  that  if  we 
can  find  some  excuse  and  pardon  for  the  sin  of 
any  human  we  may  be  sure  God  does,  and  therefore 

^John  20:23,  compare  Matthew  16:19;  18:18. 


236      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

we  have  a  right  to  assure  the  sinner  of  forgiveness. 
This,  in  fact,  is  all  we  can  do  toward  the  saving 
of  a  soul.  Salvation  is  the  work  of  God's  Spirit, 
and  we  can  only  be  a  channel  for  His  Spirit.  To 
know  God  through  Christ  is  eternal  life,  but  usually 
men  know  God  through  Christ  through  some  fellow 
man.  The  soul  of  man  turns  from  sin  whenever  he 
gets  a  powerful  enough  conception  of  God's  love 
and  mercy.  That  conception  comes  historically  and 
directly  through  the  life  and  suffering  of  Christ; 
it  comes  practically  and  mediately  through  some 
Christlike  man  or  woman.  By  our  love  and  sym- 
pathy, by  unselfish  service  to  the  needy  and  the 
miserable  and  the  sinful,  we  help  them  to  an  under- 
standing of  the  Father's  love.  Thus,  and  thus  only, 
can  we  become  soul  savers. 

The  remedial  work  of  the  church  is  of  course 
not  limited  by  these  exquisite  stories  to  single  souls 
who  may  now  and  then  be  rescued  from  misfor- 
tune and  misery.  The  phrase  most  on  Jesus*  lips 
was  the  Kingdom  of  God.  A  kingdom  is  made  up 
of  individuals,  but  those  individuals  constitute  a 
social  order.  Jesus  had  in  mind  both  the  individual 
and  society.  He  sought  to  change  society  by  trans- 
forming the  individual,  but  He  said  that  these 
transformed  individuals  were  to  be  salt,  and  light, 
and  leaven,  which  points  to  the  preserving  and  il- 
luminating and  transforming  of  the  common  life. 
So  Christ  is  working  in  the  community  to-day. 
The  movement  to  abolish  poverty  is  the  fulfilling 
of  His  "good  tidings  to  the  poor."     The  workers 


COMMUNITY  SERVICE  237 

for  prison  reform  are  in  a  very  real  sense  proclaim- 
ing "  release  to  the  captive."  The  fight  against  dis- 
ease and  alcoholism  and  social  impurity;  the  new- 
sense  of  human  values  in  industry;  the  committees 
of  family  rehabilitation  and  the  friendly  family 
visitor;  the  campaigns  for  better  housing  condi- 
tions, for  pure  milk  and  for  "safety  first";  the  in- 
vestigations of  the  standard  of  living  to  learn  the 
actual  budget  on  which  a  family  can  be  maintained 
with  decency  and  self-respect;  these  and  many 
other  modern  activities  mean  "sight  to  the  blind" 
and  liberty  for  "them  that  are  bruised"  and  the 
bringing  in  of  the  "acceptable  year  of  the  Lord." 
The  church  of  Christ  is  committed  by  its  found- 
er to  a  full  salvation  and  a  complete  redemption 
for  the  world  of  men.  Salvation  means  safety,  and 
the  environment  of  many  men  has  to  be  changed  if 
we  are  to  keep  them  saved.  Redemption  includes  pre- 
vention as  a  corollary,  and  these  parables  of  Jesus, 
which  were  faithful  to  the  life  of  His  time,  have  an 
added  meaning  to-day  and  require  the  policing  of 
the  road,  protection  against  all  kinds  of  exploitation, 
the  amelioration  of  human  need  and  the  bettering 
of  the  community  life.  The  program  of  the  church 
must  express  its  care  for  the  whole  life  of  man  as 
does  the  life  of  Christ  and  the  providence  of  God.^ 

*  Professor  Clarence  A.  Beckwith  thus  summarizes  the 
church's  present  task  and  duty:  "Not  until  it  rediscovers 
in  the  new  social  environment  and  consciously  defines  and 
dedicates  itself  to  its  task  will  it  compel  the  allegiance 
both  of  its  own  members  and  of  the  community  in  which 


238      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

There  is  as  much  need  for  social  service  in  the 
rural  church  as  in  the  city  church.  A  popular  medi- 
cal writer  points  out  that  in  healthfulness  the  city 
is  overtaking  the  country ;  the  milk  supply  is  purer, 
water  is  better,  typhoid  is  less  common,  and  in  our 
two  largest  cities  the  death  rate  is  now  lower  than 
in  the  country  as  a  whole.^  Many  of  the  unsocial 
conditions  of  the  city  are  found  in  rural  communi- 
ties. Poverty  is  not  so  frequent,  but  more  sordid. 
Slum  conditions  may  be  discovered  in  many  a  vil- 
lage, whole  families  cooking,  eating,  living  in  a 
single,  dirty,  unventilated  room  with  a  world  of 
air  and  light  shut  out.  Drunkenness  is  greater  per 
capita  in  communities  of  less  than  2,500  where  the 
saloon  has  not  been  banished,  than  in  cities.  But 
even  more  important  than  the  fight  against  disease 
or  vice  is  it  that  rural  churches  organize  to  promote 
community  spirit,  to  provide  means  of  recreation, 
and  to  improve  social  ideals.  This  will  be  discussed 
in  later  chapters. 

it  is  placed.  Its  task  may  be  different  or  simpler  in  one 
community  than  in  another — ^here  religious,  there  educa- 
tional, elsewhere  social,  or  all  of  these  in  various  com- 
binations and  degrees.  Its  only  justification  for  its  exist- 
ence even  lies  in  the  words  of  Jesus,  *I  am  among  you 
as  He  that  serveth.'  All  over  our  land  are  deserted 
church  buildings  which  tell  their  own  tragic  tale;  because 
they  ceased  to  serve,  they  ceased  to  live.  And  not  long 
will  a  community  care  for  a  church  which  cares  little  or 
nothing  for  it."  "The  Church,  the  People  and  the  Age," 
edited  by  Scott  &  Gilmore,  p.  505. 

^Dr.   Woods   Hutchinson   in   The   American  Magazine 
for  March,  1913. 


COMMUNITY   SERVICE  239 

Some  churches  are  kept  from  organized  com- 
munity service  because  it  seems  to  involve  a  too 
formidable  undertaking.  But  a  social  program  for 
the  church  consists  simply  in  this :  the  addition  of 
scientific  knowledge  and  an  intelligent  constructive 
method  to  its  ancient  love  for  men.  The  church 
has  human  feeling  and  spiritual  power  which  needs 
only  a  program  along  which  to  operate  for  a  better 
community  life.  Each  church  must  formulate  its 
own  program,  for  community  needs  differ.  In  city 
or  country  the  first  and  indispensable  step  is  a  sur- 
vey of  the  field.  A  careful  study  of  the  needs  of 
the  community  must  be  made,  the  agencies  avail- 
able for  the  supply  of  those  needs  must  be  meas- 
ured, the  science  underlying  a  correct  ministry  to 
the  needs  must  be  known.  Then  let  the  wisest 
people  in  the  church  decide  what  is  to  be  done. 

While  a  standardized  program  cannot  be  given, 
a  few  suggestions  besides  those  found  elsewhere  in 
the  book  may  be  made:  A  social  service  group, 
made  up  of  men  and  women  most  full  of  the  social 
passion,  should  be  organized  in  each  church.  This 
will  be  the  nucleus  for  investigation  and  study  and 
the  directing  force  in  community  activities.  The 
social  service  groups  in  the  various  churches  should 
be  organized  into  one  compact  group  and  where 
possible  a  social  service  expert  should  be  employed 
as  executive  secretary  to  lead  the  work  and  keep 
all  the  forces  applied.^    The  men  and  women  of  the 

*The  Presbyterian  churches  of  Buffalo  have  done  ex- 
cellent work  in  this  direction. 


240      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

churches  should  be  enlisted  In  those  social  service 
agencies  already  existing  in  which  they  can  be  of 
most  use.  When  such  agencies  are  lacking,  church 
people  should  establish  them  or  do  the  work  them- 
selves.^ 

These  are  some  of  the  pressing  social  needs  of 
every  city  which  should  be  supplied  where  lacking: 

A  community  conscience  and  civic  pride. 

A  city  lunch  club  as  a  forum  to  create  public 
opinion. 2 

A  united  charities  and  joint  registration  bureau 
and  confidential  exchange  as  a  clearing  house  for 
social  service  agencies. 

A  remedial  loan  association  to  combat  the  loan 
shark.^ 

An  efficient  employment  bureau  conducted  along 
scientific  lines. 

Free  visiting  nurses  connected  with  hospitals  and 
the  public  schools. 

Public  comfort  stations  for  men  and  women. 

Industrial  and  vocational  training  in  the  public 
schools. 

As  substitutes  for  the  saloon:  the  use  of  school 
buildings  and  church  buildings  as  social  centers, 
supervised  dance  halls  and  pool  rooms,  censored 

*  The  Survey  of  New  York  is  an  invaluable  publication 
for  all  social  service  workers. 

^The  best  model  known  to  the  writer  is  the  City  Club 
of  Rochester. 

*  These  associations  are  run  as  a  business  enterprise  and 
are  everywhere  successful.  Write  Arthur  H.  Ham,  Rus- 
sell Sage  Foundation,  New  York  city. 


COMMUNITY   SERVICE  24I 

picture  shows,  and  amusement  palaces  for  all  sorts 
of  indoor  recreation  without  the  sale  of  liquor. 

Greater  publicity  as  to  the  social  evil  and  the  effi- 
cient teaching  of  sex  hygiene  to  young  and  old. 

Homes  for  the  aged  of  both  sexes  and  homes 
for  aged  married  couples. 

Wherever   these    and    other    such    agencies    are 
needed  the  church  should    make    the    first    move  j 
toward  securing  them.    In  towns  and  villages  it  is 
the  churches  that  should  lead  the  agitation  for  civic  I 
betterment  and  town  beautifying,  as  they  have  led 
in  the  great  temperance  reform.     But  while  the| 
churches  should  stimulate  public  spirit  and  direct! 
public  sentiment  it  is  a  mistake  to  organize  a  pri- 
vate agency  to  do  the  work  which  should  be  done 
by  the  city  or  town.    Let  all  church  men  get  behind 
faithful  public  officials  and  get  after  the  incompe- 
tent and  corrupt.    Do  not  organize  another  society 
if  there  is  one  in  existence  that  could  do  the  work 
if  only  properly  supported.     It  is  better  to  make 
use  of  a  trained  expert  than  to  trust  wholly  to 
volunteers.     A  community  is  not  greatly  bettered 
by  spasmodic  efforts  however  well  meaning.     So- 
cial service  is  a  business  that  requires  patience,  in- 
telligence and  perseverance  as  well  as  good  will. 

No  church  program  is  complete  without  some 
well-considered  and  effective  plan  for  dealing  with 
the  social  evil.^    Driven  by  what  Jane  Addams  calls 

*The  amount  of  space  ^ven  in  this  chapter  to  the  so- 
cial evil  is  from  several  reasons:  the  enormity  of  the 
evil,  the  fact  that  it  is  rarely  discussed  frankly  in  such 


242      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

a  "new  conscience"  the  church  must  make  holy 
war  against  the  "ancient  evil"  of  prostitution  and 
sex  vice.  Prudishness  has  allowed  this  evil  to  flour- 
ish unchecked.  False  modesty  has  permitted  us  to 
say  nothing  in  public  of  venereal  disease,  of  all  dis- 
eases most  fatal  to  health  and  morals.  Even  the 
medical  profession  has  been  browbeaten  into  si- 
lence. The  churches  have  been  most  recreant,  and 
the  churches  assume  responsibility  for  moral  train- 
ing. A  stupid  and  cruel  conspiracy  of  silence  has 
prevented  any  effective  crusade  against  social  vice, 
but  the  time  for  plain  speech  and  for  frank  discus- 
sion of  the  problem  has  arrived. 

Back  of  sex  vice  is  a  great  biological  law  that 
must  be  reckoned  with.  Sex  attraction  is  responsi- 
ble for  sex  indulgence.  Sex  attraction  is  a  power- 
ful force,  operative  in  both  sexes  but  more  persis- 
tent in  the  male,  and  upon  this  great  primitive  in- 
stinct depends  in  large  measure  the  preservation  of 
the  race  and  the  maintenance  of  the  home  and  the 
family.  It  is  therefore  a  beneficent  force  when 
properly  controlled. 

The  sex  instinct  of  men  has  been  falsely  de- 
scribed as  uncontrollable.  The  shameful  statement 
is  made  that  no  woman  would  be  safe  in  the  streets 
if  there  were  not  professionals  to  whom  men  could 
resort.  But  the  evidence  of  history  is  to  the  con- 
trary. Sex  attraction  has  from  the  beginning  of 
organized  society  been  under  social  control  and  the 

works  as  this,  and  because  other  forms  of  social  service 
are  treated  in  other  chapters. 


COMMUNITY  SERVICE  243 

mating  instinct  has  been  regulated  by  public  opin- 
ion.^ Men  have  taken  to  wife  women  of  their  own 
tribe  or  women  captured  or  purchased  from  an- 
other, according  to  the  prevailing  social  judgment; 
men  have  secured  a  bride  by  exchanging  her  for  a 
sister,  or  have  married  the  woman  selected  for 
them  by  their  parents;  they  have  married  or  re- 
fused to  marry  their  sisters-in-law,  and  have  fallen 
in  love  with  their  cousins  or  refrained  from  so  do- 
ing, according  as  social  custom  decided.  But  men 
have  declined  to  hold  themselves  to  the  same  chas- 
tity which  they  require  in  their  wives  because  a 
double  standard  of  morality  is  accepted  by  society, 
the  women  often  being  the  first  to  apply  it.  A 
man  of  notoriously  irregular  life  has  little  difficulty 
in  getting  some  woman  to  marry  him,  and  she  may 
have  a  measure  of  pride  in  thinking  he  has  at  last 
anchored  his  incontinent  heart  to  her;  while  the 
man  would  scorn  to  take  as  wife  a  woman  who  was 
known  to  have  had  improper  relations  with  other 
men.  All  these  sex  questions,  so  far  as  men  even  are 
concerned,  rest  upon  social  judgment,  just  as  social 
judgment  in  some  ancient  tribes  decided  that  one 
man  might  have  a  plurality  of  wives  while  in  others 
one  woman  might  have  a  plurality  of  husbands. 

The  power  of  this  social  control  over  women  is 
far  greater,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  with 
all  their  ignorance  and  their  hunger  for  affection 
and  their  desire  for  a  home  and  children  and  their 

*  See  Jane  Addams,  "A  New  Conscience  and  an  An- 
cient Evil,"  p.  207. 


244      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

faith  in  the  men  who  betray  them  and  the  economic 
pressure  under  which  many  are  placed  and  the 
ostracism  which  follows  an  innocent  misstep,  a 
highly  organized  commercial  enterprise,  insidious 
and  cunning,  is  needed  to  supply  the  traffic  with 
girls.  The  sex  instinct  is  amenable  to  social  con- 
trol; "in  spite  of  many  rebellious  individuals,  the 
mass  of  men  have  lived  according  to  the  dictates  of 
the  church,  the  legal  requirements  of  the  state,  and 
the  surveillance  of  the  comrhunity,  if  only  because 
they  feared  social  ostracism."  ^ 

Complete  control  of  this  great  primitive  instinct 
is  to  be  reached  only  through  the  combined  power 
of  religion,  knowledge  and  social  judgment.  The 
appeal  to  the  moral  nature  is  not  enough  where  the 
moral  quality  of  the  act  in  question  depends  on  the 
single  fact  of  marriage.  A  single  standard  of  mo- 
rality for  men  and  women  will  never  be  effectively 
operative,  save  among  persons  of  high  religious  cul- 
ture, for  nature  herself  does  not  visit  the  same 
judgment  on  both — it  is  the  woman  who  bears  the 
child  while  the  man  escapes  unnoticed.  Sex  attrac- 
tion is  too  insistent  and  specious  to  be  easily  con- 
trolled. Social  control  must  be  reinforced  by  edu- 
cation and  publicity.  Children  must  be  instructed 
as  to  their  sex  life,  and  young  men  and  women  as 
to  the  far  and  desperate  reach  of  venereal  disease. 
The  first  duty  is  the  parents',  but  many  parents  are 
hopeless.  The  majority  do  not  and  for  another 
generation  will  not  prepare  their  children  for  the 

*  "A  New  Conscience  and  an  Ancient  Evil,"  p.  209. 


COMMUNITY  SERVICE  245 

safeguarding  of  their  life;  many  lack  the  knowl- 
edge themselves.  Therefore  sex  instruction  should 
be  given  through  the  church  and  by  properly 
equipped  persons  in  the  public  schools. 

It  seems  strange  that  in  our  teaching  of  physiol- 
ogy the  most  significant  facts  of  the  body  should  be 
ignored.  Many  people  are  not  yet  ready  for  such 
instruction  as  a  part  of  the  child's  education.^  But 
we  must  go  further  than  this  if  we  are  to  overtake 
the  ancient  evil.  Venereal  diseases  must  be  dragged 
from  privacy.  They  must  be  made  reportable  to 
the  health  office  like  measles  and  diphtheria  and 
other  contagious  diseases.  Prof.  Finger  says  that 
we  shall  never  make  progress  in  the  treatment  of 
syphilis  and  gonorrhea  until  the  public  is  made  to 
understand  that  instead  of  being  ashamed  of  and 
not  afraid  of  these  diseases,  they  should  not  be 
ashamed  of  but  fear  them.^    Quarantine  could  be 

*The  Roman  Catholic  Church,  which  in  its  confessional 
comes  nearest  to  the  parental  function,  is  most  backward 
in  the  fight  against  sex  ignorance.  Charts  prepared  by 
the  Health  Bureau  of  Rochester  for  a  Child  Welfare  Ex- 
hibit in  1913,  showing  the  ravages  of  venereal  disease, 
had  to  be  removed  because  of  the  protest  of  the  priests. 
The  Bishop  of  the  diocese  declined  to  cooperate  with  the 
ministers  and  physicians  even  in  a  preliminary  considera- 
tion of  the  advisability  of  physical  examination  before 
marriage. 

*In  Norway,  Sweden  and  Denmark  a  hundred  years 
ago  conditions  were  appalling.  With  methods  of  pub- 
licity there  is  a  steady  decrease  of  venereal  disease.  The 
laws  of  Norway  are  generally  regarded  as  the  most  effi- 
cient yet  devised.    They  are  briefly  as  follows: 


246      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

made  effective  only  in  case  of  marriage,  as  is  now 
done  in  some  places.^    Medical  examination  should 

"Venereal  diseases  must  be  reported  like  all  other  con- 
tagious diseases,  but  with  initials  of  the  patient  instead  of 
the  full  name.  The  probable  source  of  the  infection,  if 
ascertainable,  must  be  given  on  the  notification  blank, 
and  whether  male  or  female,  the  individual  alleged  to  be 
the  source  of  the  infection  is  summoned  to  appear  before 
the  sanitary  police  officer.  Informed  that  he  or  she  is 
suffering  from  a  contagious  disease,  he  is  asked  to  submit 
to  an  examination  by  the  physician  of  the  department. 
This  examination  cannot  be  insisted  on.  If  accepted  and 
venereal  disease  is  found,  free  treatment  is  furnished  if 
the  individual  desires.  If  the  examination  is  refused,  the 
individual  is  directed  to  bring  a  certificate  from  an  ap- 
proved physician  that  he  is  well  or  under  treatment.  This 
demand  must  be  complied  with,  and  if  a  venereal  disease  is 
reported  the  subject  must  sign  a  form  running  as  follows: 

"  'Dr.  N.  has  told  me  that  I  am  suffering  from  (name 
of  disease)  a  contagious  disease;  he  has  fully  explained 
to  me  the  dangers  of  this  disease  with  regard  to  myself 
and  my  associates,  and  its  probable  duration,  and  has 
made  it  clear  to  me  that  I  must  remain  under  treatment 
until  he  gives  me  a  certificate  to  bring  to  this  office  that  I 
am  well  and  no  longer  a  possible  source  of  contagion.  I 
know  that  if  I  have  sexual  intercourse  during  this  time, 
whether  I  transmit  the  disease  or  not,  I  am  liable  to  be 

punished  under   Section  of  the  Laws  of  Norway.' " 

— ^Dr.  Lawrence  Litchfield,  The  Journal  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  Feb.  26,  1910,  p.  692. 

^Utah  was  the  pioneer  state  with  a  law  which  requires 
that  this  infection  be  reported  and  controlled  as  are  other 
contagious  maladies.  The  California  legislature  of  1913 
passed  an  act  requiring  all  male  applicants  for  marriage 
licenses  to  show  health  certificates,  and  similar  legislation 
has  been  introduced  in  other  states. 


COMMUNITY   SERVICE  247 

be  required  before  marriage  in  order  to  protect  the 
innocent,  the  unborn,  and  those  whom  sexual  dis- 
ease keeps  from  ever  being  conceived.^  In  all  these 
preventive  measures  the  church  instead  of  being 
reluctant  should  be  most  energetic.^  In  the  matter 
of  marriage  the  church  has  a  peculiar  responsibil- 
ity. Marriage  is  a  function  of  the  state,  but  to  sol- 
emnize it  and  secure  for  it  a  higher  moral  character 
the  church  is  allowed  to  perform  the  ceremony. 
Some  churches  call  it  a  sacrament.  The  powers 
that  control  marriage,  control  in  large  measure  the 
forces  of  reproduction  and  the  future  of  the  race. 
The  church  must  therefore  make  every  effort  to 
protect  those  it  joins  together  and  not  give  its  sanc- 
tion to  wedlock  between  uncleanness  and  purity, 
and  doom  the  innocent  to  disease  and  childlessness. 
Such  wedlock  cannot  be  "holy." 

Full  instruction  as  to  the  wages  of  such  sin,  in 
connection  with  the  religious  appeal,  will  in  another 
generation  greatly  reduce  sex  immorality.  As  to  the 
present  treatment  of  prostitution,  vice  commissions 
agree.  The  method  of  segregation  has  broken 
down  in  Paris  and  Berlin,  where  it  has  been  fol- 
lowed most  scientifically.  The  only  way  to  treat 
prostitution   is    to    fight   it — with    education,    with 

*  Childlessness  and  what  the  Germans  call  "one-child 
sterility"  are  not  so  much  the  result  of  unwillingness  to 
bear  children  as  of  venereal  disease.  Warbasse,  ''Medi- 
cal Sociology"  p.  74. 

'In  summing  up  the  forces  which  are  in  action  against 
the  social  evil,  Miss  Addams  omits  the  church  and  clergy. 
Op.  cit,  pp.  5,  186. 


248      THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

moral  appeal  and  with  all  the  weapons  of  the  law.^ 
But  the  women  involved  in  the  traffic  are  more 
sinned  against  than  sinning.  All  such  women  should 
be  offered  a  chance  for  a  better  life.  If  ill  they 
must  be  provided  with  medical  care,  if  they  have 
become  weak-minded  they  must  be  placed  in  an 
institution.  They  must  be  trained  for  honest  serv- 
ice, restored  to  their  relatives  or  found  a  home. 
This  is  the  only  Christian  thing  to  do.  "Neither  do 
I  condemn  thee,"  said  Jesus,  but  He  would  con- 
demn the  society  that  excuses  prostitution  and  tol- 
erates "white  slavery." 

I  am  aware  that  such  treatment  of  the  sex 
problem  is  too  advanced  for  many  and  that  the 
views  I  have  just  stated  may  prejudice  the  more 
conservative  and  conventional  against  the  whole 
chapter.  A  devout  but  narrow-minded  minister  re- 
marked with  regard  to  a  survey  of  the  social  and 
religious  needs  of  a  certain  city,  that  if  anything 
were  said  of  houses  of  prositution  he  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  Some  took  offense  that  Jesus 
went  to  lodge  with  a  Publican  and  were  scandalized 
that  He  let  a  harlot  anoint  His  feet.  Jesus  over- 
stepped many  of  the  conventions  of  His  day  but  the 
event  shows  that  He  was  wiser  than  the  Pharisee. 
May  it  not  be  thaj:  some  of  our  conventions  and 
some  of  our  traditions  are  mistaken?    May  it  not 

^In  Atlanta  the  "red  light"  district  was  extinguished  by 
the  use  of  skillful  advertisements  in  the  public  press.  It 
was  an  aftermath  of  the  Men  and  Religion  Forward 
Movement.    Two  business  men  saw  it  through. 


COMMUNITY   SERVICE  249 

be  that  our  prejudices  should  be  reconsidered  and 
our  opinions  revised  if  we  are  to  rescue  this  world 
from  sin  and  bring  in  the  Kingdom  of  God? 

It  is  a  Kingdom  that  needs  to  be  sought  with 
might  and  main  and  intelligent  resource.  Stones 
which  the  builders  have  rejected  may  be  needed 
for  its  foundations.  Wherever  failure  was  made, 
some  new  method  or  agency  must  be  tried.  Initia- 
tive, energy  and  perseverance  are  necessary,  but  its 
walls  must  be  set  up.  The  city  in  which  we  live 
is  our  Holy  City.  It  is  the  church's  business  to 
make  it  a  true  City  of  God. 


CHAPTER   V 

ADVERTISING  THE  CHURCH 

It  has  twice  been  noted  that  the  church  has 
dropped  out  of  the  field  of  consciousness  of  many 
in  our  large  centers  of  population.  This  is  partly 
because  the  church  has  not  been  kept  before  their 
attention.  Other  interests  crowd  us  more  and 
more.  Our  eyes  are  assailed  by  advertisements  set- 
ting forth  the  merits  of  a  host  of  things  for  which 
our  interest  is  wanted.  We  are  not  allowed  to  look 
at  nothing.  Always  before  our  gaze,  turn  it  where 
we  may,  looms  up  the  inexorable  billboard  or 
electric  sign.  There  is  no  let-up  in  the  appeal  made 
to  our  attention.  The  modern  mind  is  beaten  hard, 
like  the  wayside,  by  the  tramp  of  a  multitude  of 
ideas  and  sensations.  Who  would  arrest  attention 
must  be  importunate,  insistent,  inescapable. 

In  its  missionary  periods  the  church  forced  itself 
upon  the  notice  of  the  people.  It  challenged  them 
to  stop  and  consider.  And  it  won  its  way.  But 
of  late  years  the  church  has  stood  aside  and  let 
the  people  pass  it  by.  It  has  been  too  modest. 
We  have  built  our  churches  and  waited  for  the 
people  to  find  us  out.  They  haven't  found  us  out. 
They  aren't  hostile  to  the  church,  but  simply  do 

250 


ADVERTISING  THE   CHURCH  25I 

not  take  us  into  account.  Other  claims  have  been 
made  more  successfully  upon  them.  They  have 
fogotten  the  church. 

Now,  to  seek  and  to  save  is  our  commission.  The 
initiative  we  have  to  take.  There  is  no  moral  law 
requiring  people  to  attend  church,  but  the  church 
must  commend  itself  to  the  people.  It  must  make  ^^ 
its  way  into  their  consciousness,  find  for  itself  a 
place  in  their  life.  It  must  get  its  message  before 
their  attention  as  the  politician  does  his  theories  of 
government  and  the  merchant  his  wares.  It  must 
win  attention  and  then  convince  and  persuade. 
While  the  neglect  of  many  is  to  be  explained  on  the 
ground  that  they  do  not  even  reckon  with  the 
church,  there  are  still  many  who  while  taking  ac- 
count of  it  think  they  are  not  wanted.  Some  in- 
stance of  neglect  to  a  stranger,  and  the  more  if  he 
happens  to  be  a  poor  man,  some  lack  of  considera- 
tion— real  or  imaginary — is  talked  of  and  exag- 
gerated, and  many  actually  have  gotten  the  notion 
that  the  church  has  a  welcome  only  for  the  privi- 
leged and  well-to-do.  Many  self-respecting  people 
of  small  income  stay  away  from  church  because 
they  are  able  to  contribute  but  little  for  its  support. 

By  some  means,  whatever  acts  as  a  barrier  to 
church  attendance  must  be  removed.  The  poor  must 
be  made  to  feel  at  home  in  the  family  church  as  in 
the  cathedral.  That  isn't  easy,  but  the  church 
organization  or  church  building  must  not  longer  be 
allowed  to  keep  any  away  from  the  fellowship  of 
Christians.     Somehow  the  church  must  get  back 


252       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

into  the  consciousness  of  those  for  whom  it  has 
ceased  to  exist.  Somehow  the  church  must  chal- 
lenge the  attention  of  the  whole  people.  Somehow 
the  claim  of  the  church  must  be  put  up  to  every 
man  so  strongly  that  he  will  have  to  say  yes  or  no 
to  church.    When  thus  challenged  few  will  say  no. 

The  right  kind  of  publicity  will  help.  This  is  the 
day  of  advertising.  True,  it  may  be  overdone. 
Much  money  is  wasted  in  advertising.  We  might 
be  spared  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  billboards 
and  no  one  would  be  the  worse.  Mere  volume  of 
advertising  does  not  count.  Nevertheless  a  good 
article,  an  article  which  the  people  need,  has  only 
to  be  well  advertised  to  insure  a  market.  The 
church  has  a  good  article.  Its  message  as  to  God 
and  duty  and  destiny  meets  the  need  of  the  human 
heart.  It  has  good  grounds  for  advertising  its 
wares. 

An  immediately  available  form  of  publicity  is 
for  each  church  to  keep  the  people  of  its  own 
neighborhood  informed  as  to  what  it  is  doing. 
Every  church's  card  index  should  include  the  names 
of  those  in  the  community  who  are  not  known  to 
be  church  attendants.  How  to  get  these  names  and 
addresses  must  be  left  to  the  ingenuity  of  each  con- 
gregation. With  this  mailing  list  the  minister,  or 
much  better  the  publicity  committee,  can  send  out 
from  time  to  time  post  card  announcements  that 
will  catch  the  attention  of  non-churchgoers.  Even 
though  the  minister  is  gifted  in  the  phrasing  of  such 
announcements  it  is  better  that  the  copy  be  pre- 


ADVERTISING  THE  CHURCH  253 

pared  by  a  publicity  committee  or  by  some  adver- 
tising man.  The  post  cards  may  be  mimeographed 
and  sent  through  the  mails  in  time  to  be  delivered 
by  Friday.  When  these  announcements  have  been 
fired  at  a  man  several  times  he  will  begin  to  think 
the  church  means  business. 

All  such  up-to-date  methods  involve  the  help  of 
an  adequate  office  force.  The  minister  of  a  church 
that  is  growing  or  that  expects  to  grow  ought  to 
have  a  secretary,  and  where  necessary  more  than 
one,  to  care  for  the  details  of  church  organization. 
The  "follow-up  system"  is  as  important  in  a  church 
enterprise  as  in  a  commercial  enterprise,  and  church 
officials  show  poor  business  judgment  who  do  not 
supply  the  minister  with  sufficient  office  help  to 
make  it  effective. 

In  very  large  cities  it  is  practically  out  of  the 
question  for  the  church  to  get  the  ear  or  the  eye 
of  the  people  through  any  direct  method.  An 
unknown  caller  at  the  apartment  house  does  not 
gain  admittance,  and  a  mailing  list  is  not  to  be 
had.  But  the  newspaper  goes  into  every  home  and 
it  is  through  the  newspaper  mainly  that  the  church's 
appeal  has  to  be  made.  And  yet  newspaper  adver- 
tising must  be  of  the  right  kind  if  it  is  to  be  of 
value.  It  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  the  use  of  sev- 
eral more  columns  in  newspapers  would  remove  the 
indifference  of  many  to  the  church.  As  much  space 
might  be  given  to  the  church  as  to  baseball  and 
still  for  many  it  would  not  become  as  popular  as 
baseball.     The  church  is  an  old  institution,  carry- 


254       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

ing  on  its  work  in  a  rather  familiar,  conventional 
fashion.  There  are  few  sensational  plays  as  on  the 
baseball  diamond,  and  religious  news  could  not  be 
spiced  with  the  newest  slang  of  the  sporting  page. 
The  best  preaching  is  not  reportable.  The  news- 
paper wants  news  that  is  new.  Those  sermons  which 
deal  with  the  passing  hour,  with  current  events,  are 
reportable,  but  not  a  sermon  on  the  eternals.  Not 
in  America,  I  mean. 

Nevertheless  an  expert  newspaper  man  could 
report  the  church  in  a  fashion  to  get  the  attention 
of  the  great  army  of  newspaper  readers.  The  av- 
erage pastor  is  not  qualified  for  such  work,  nor  has 
he  time.  Also,  he  is  the  leader  and  central  per- 
sonality of  his  church.  His  relation  to  the  church 
is  different  from  that  of  a  manufacturer  or  a 
merchant  to  his  business.  The  newspaper  world 
is  prejudiced,  it  is  said,  against  giving  greater 
publicity  to  church  matters  because  of  the  personal 
ambition  of  some  ministers  who  are  anxious  to 
advertise  themselves  rather  than  their  work.  A 
manufacturer  only  wants  his  goods  known  and 
sold,  we  are  told,  and  cares  nothing  for  his  own 
name  and  fame.  But  a  manufacturer's  success  de- 
pends on  the  quality  of  the  product  he  has  to  sell, 
while  the  minister's  success  depends  not  on  some 
impersonal  product  but  on  his  own  personality.  It 
is  impossible  to  dissociate  a  minister  from  his 
church  as  a  manufacturer  may  be  dissociated  from 
his  business.  To  advertise  a  minister's  work  is  to 
advertise  the  man  back  of  it.     The  minister  is  in 


ADVERTISING  THE   CHURCH  255 

the  same  class  with  the  lawyer  and  physician  in  the 
matter  of  advertising. 

Each  church,  therefore,  should  have  its  press 
agent  or  publicity  committee.  Modesty  would  nat- 
urally prevent  the  minister  from  using  the  methods 
of  publicity  by  which  trade  and  all  modern  busi- 
ness thrives,  and  it  would  be  bad  form,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  physician  and  lawyer.  If  he  were  to 
resort  to  them  he  would  only  excite  contempt.  Ad- 
vertising is  not  his  job. 

In  addition  to  the  local  publicity  secretary  there 
should  be  in  every  large  community  a  permanent 
publicity  bureau  in  charge  of  a  thoroughly  capable 
newspaper  man  who  would  keep  in  touch  with  the 
religious  organizations  of  the  city  and  cooperate 
with  the  local  press  agents.  This  would  avoid  the 
impression  that  the  churches  are  in  competition 
with  one  another,  an  impression  that  is  deadly 
to  the  growth  of  the  church.  To  facilitate  the 
work  of  this  paid  force  there  should  be  a  confer- 
ence of  church  leaders  and  the  leaders  of  the  press 
in  the  community  to  bring  about  sympathetic  rela- 
tions between  the  newspapers  and  the  churches.  No 
groups  of  men  could  be  more  mutually  helpful  than 
preachers  and  newspaper  men.  Such  conferences 
would  open  the  way  to  new  and  efficient  ways  of 
community  service. 

While  the  editors  will  give  more  free  space  than 
at  present,  there  needs  to  be  considerable  paid  ad- 
vertising. In  a  city  of  50,000  and  over  there 
should  be  a  full-page  advertisement  once  a  week  by 


256      THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

yearly  contract  in  at  least  one  leading  daily  paper. 
In  display  type  some  phase  of  church  life  should 
each  week  be  set  forth.  The  value  of  social  wor- 
ship, of  the  Bible  school,  of  the  church  as  a  medium 
for  fellowship,  and  of  the  community  service  ren- 
dered by  the  church  should  be  stated  in  the  most 
telling  and  persuasive  manner.  If  the  church  hasn't 
anything  of  interest  to  display,  that  fact  will  call 
its  attention  to  the  need  for  new  enterprises  and  for 
actual  social  service  to  which  it  can  point  with 
honest  satisfaction. 

"Talking  points"  for  the  church  should  be  mar- 
shaled by  the  wisest  church  leaders  for  use  in  these 
display  advertisements.  Many  are  at  a  loss  to  know 
how  to  commend  the  church.  They  haven't  formu- 
lated their  own  reasons  for  church  attendance. 
They  could  not  give  a  convincing  answer  to  the 
objection,  "Why  should  I  go  to  church?"  Just 
as  the  most  efficient  sales  departments  have  schools 
of  salesmanship  and  train  their  agents,  so  we  need 
to  give  help  and  direction  to  those  who  would  win 
recruits  for  the  church. 

Great  wisdom  should  be  used  in  selecting  the  best 
medium.  A  yellow  journal  in  New  York  sent  out 
a  solicitor  to  secure  the  paid  pulpit  notices  which 
are  printed  on  Saturday.  He  returned  with  word 
that  the  ministers  refused  to  place  the  advertise- 
ment because  his  paper  was  not  read  by  church- 
goers. The  publisher  replied,  "Go  back  and  say 
to  them :  'Whom  do  you  advertise  for,  those  with 
whom  you  already  do  business,  or  those  you  want 


ADVERTISING   THE   CHURCH  257 

to  do  business  with  ?' "  That  got  them  all.  We 
advertise  to  catch  the  attention  of  the  uninterested, 
to  enlarge  the  volume  of  business  done,  to  attract 
new  customers,  to  enlist  new  recruits. 

The  newspaper  is  not  the  only  medium,  though 
it  is  the  best.  No  advertisement  in  the  street-car 
misses  the  eye  that  is  not  poring  over  a  newspaper. 
The  motion-picture  house  offers  a  splendid  oppor- 
tunity also.  The  whole  attention  of  the  thousands 
who  daily  attend  these  shows  is  riveted  on  the 
canvas,  and  a  well  worded  slide  run  in  the  intervals 
when  the  rolls  are  being  changed  would  make  a 
lasting  impression  on  the  memory. 

Billboards  and  "sky  signs"  were  used  effectively 
at  the  time  of  the  Christian  Conservation  Congress 
of  the  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement. 
They  bore  the  simple  invitation  of  the  church  or 
stated  the  self-evident  claims  of  religion.  These 
are  samples :  "Not  to  Allay  but  to  Help  Satisfy 
Social  Unrest  Is  One  Aim  of  Present  Day  Chris- 
tianity. Think  Things  Through  and  You  Will  Go 
to  Church" ;  and  "Sport  Is  Pleasure— But  It  Is  Not 
Pleasure  Enough  for  a  Well-Rounded  Man.  Man 
Has  a  Body,  but  He  Is  a  Living  Spirit." 

In  all  advertising,  when  space  allows,  it  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  emphasize  that  the  church 
cares  for  the  people  and  exists  to  serve  them. 
Many  do  not  realize  what  the  church  is  for.  Hence 
such  an  announcement  as  this  should  be  run  again 
and  again,  "When  sick  or  in  trouble  apply  to  any 
of  the  city's  ministers." 


258       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

Of  course  this  means  expense.  In  a  large  city 
a  high-grade  advertising  man  would  command  five 
to  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year.  He  would  need  five 
to  fifteen  thousand  more  to  conduct  the  office  and 
buy  advertising  space.  A  good  publicity  bureau 
would  mean  a  budget  of  from  ten  to  twenty  thou- 
sand a  year,  which  is  about  what  is  paid  for  music 
in  the  three  wealthiest  churches  of  the  city.  If  the 
church  wants  to  enlarge  the  volume  of  its  business, 
to  reach  the  non-churchgoer,  such  a  publicity  cam- 
paign would  be  worth  as  much  as  a  hundred  quartet 
choirs. 

Some  churchgoers  are  so  respectable  and  con- 
ventional that  they  shrink  from  the  idea  of  church 
advertising.  It  seems  to  imply  that  the  church  is 
losing  ground  and  has  the  effect  to  cheapen  the 
church.  There  is  no  use  in  blinking  the  facts — 
the  church  is  losing  ground.  With  a  growing 
number  of  people  the  church  seems  less  significant 
than  it  once  did  and  many  have  no  sense  of  need 
for  it  or  of  duty  to  it,  which  means  that  it  is 
already  cheapened  in  their  eyes.  Aggressive,  per- 
sistent advertising  would  impress  the  public  that 
the  church  is  in  dead  earnest.^  That  would  help  to 
win  back  the  prestige  which  has  been  lost,  and  it 

*  Specimens  might  be  given  of  skillful  advertising  done 
by  the  churches  in  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Grand  Rapids 
and  other  cities.  But  church  publicity  is  a  new  field,  and 
even  these  admirable  experiments  will  be  improved  upon 
in  a  few  years.  The  main  thing  is  to  realize  the  necessity 
for  pubHcity,  to  be  willing  to  put  money  into  it,  and  to 
engage  the  right  sort  of  publicity  man  to  handle  it. 


ADVERTISING   THE    CHURCH  259 

would  have  the  effect  of  stimulating  the  present 
membership  of  the  church.  For  they  v^ould  try 
to  measure  up  to  the  expectations  aroused.  Like 
the  business  house,  the  church  v^^ould  see  that  its 
goods  v^ere  "as  advertised." 

The  unusual  publicity  given  to  the  church  during 
the  Men  and  Religion  campaign  raised  just  this 
question.  Editorials  discussed  the  efficiency  of  the 
church  organization  and  earnestly  pointed  out  how 
it  could  better  fulfill  its  mission.  "Is  the  church 
as  broad  and  interested  and  helpful  as  these  adver- 
tisements intimate?"  was  their  reply  to  us.  Our 
challenge  to  the  world  means  a  challenge  to  our- 
selves. If  there  is  any  honor  in  us  we  will  try  to 
make  the  church  match  the  standards  we  set  up  for 
it  where  all  may  read.  Anyone  can  imagine  the 
reflex  influence  on  the  church  of  such  an  adver- 
tisement as  this :  "Christianity  Is  For  All  Men  and 
For  All  of  a  Man;  Go  to  Church  Next  Sunday 
and  Find  Out." 

The  amount  of  publicity  given  to  religious  news 
by  the  daily  press  would  at  once  be  increased  if 
the  editors  were  made  to  feel  that  their  readers 
wanted  it.  The  business  of  editors  is  to  meet  the 
public  demand,  and  they  will  respond  instantly  to 
the  wishes  of  the  public.  The  place  which  is  given 
to  the  church  in  the  columns  of  the  newspapers 
would  be  greatly  enlarged  if  Christian  readers  were 
interested  enough  to  express  their  opinions  to  their 
editors.  If  some  local  church  movement  is  not  ade- 
quately reported,  or  some  great  national  meeting 


26o      THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

is  omitted  altogether,  letters  to  the  managing  edi- 
tor would  quickly  eflfect  a  change.  Instructions 
would  be  given  the  city  editor  and  the  Associated 
Press  would  be  called  up  to  see  that  the  like  did 
not  happen  again.  We  get  what  we  want  if  we 
want  it  badly  enough. 

When  all  is  said  and  done  the  best  publicity  for 
any  concern  comes  from  its  present  patrons.  '*We 
are  advertised  by  our  loving  friends."  It  is  high 
time  for  the  criticism  of  the  church  on  the  part  of 
its  own  members  to  cease.  Such  criticism  is  a 
criticism  of  the  critics.  If  the  church  is  not  what  it 
ought  to  be  the  fault  is  ours  who  make  up  the 
church.  If  we  are  at  fault,  let's  not  whine  over 
it  but  remedy  it.  ^'Don't  knock,  push !"  was  the  sign 
on  an  office  door ;  and  it  is  a  good  motto  for  church 
members. 

A  pastorate  which  was  notable  for  its  efficiency 
and  length — covering  fifty  years — brought  great 
discouragement  to  the  minister  during  its  early 
years.  He  wrote  to  a  friend  in  an  adjoining  city 
that  he  was  a  failure,  and  his  friend  suggested  an 
exchange.  On  the  Sunday  of  the  exchange  the 
visiting  minister  called  the  leading  members  of  the 
church  together  after  the  sermon.  *'How  do  you 
like  your  minister?"  he  asked.  ''Immensely,"  was 
the  reply.  "What  kind  of  work  is  he  doing  here  ?" 
"Splendid,"  all  agreed.  "Then,"  said  the  wise 
friend,  "tell  him  so.  Tell  everybody.  Begin  to  talk 
of  the  great  service  being  rendered  by  this  church." 
His  counsel  was  followed  with  a  will,  and  the  result 


ADVERTISING  THE   CHURCH  261 

is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  influential  churches 
in  the  whole  country. 

The  church  needs  boosting.  Every  friend  of  the 
church  should  go  into  the  advertising  business. 
Talk  up  the  church.  Get  it  into  current  conversa- 
tion. Talk  church  at  the  club,  on  the  street  car,  in 
the  home  circle.  Speak  well  of  it.  And  then  see 
that  it  deserves  to  be  well  spoken  of. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE  OPPORTUNITY  OF  THE  RURAL  CHURCH 

Even  when  the  country-to-city  movement  was 
at  its  height  the  rural  church  played  a  great  part, 
for  it  was  the  training  school  of  the  most  virile  ele- 
ment in  the  city's  population.  The  leaders  in  all 
walks  of  life  were  for  the  most  part  country  bred. 
The  farm  develops  an  initiative  and  resourceful- 
ness which  make  the  leader.  Among  the  really 
significant  men  of  the  last  half-century  the  large  ma- 
jority spent  their  boyhood  on  the  farm.  Certainly 
the  churches  of  the  city  are  kept  replenished  by 
those  who  were  reared  in  the  country.  It  is  the 
country  church  and  school  to  which  all  these  look 
back  for  the  ideals  that  have  guided  them  through 
life. 

With  the  present  country-ward  movement  the 
rural  church  occupies  a  yet  more  important  posi- 
tion. Many  of  the  more  energetic  young  men  are 
still  going  from  the  farm  to  the  city,  and  what  the 
country  church  means  to  them  will  be  of  immense 
moment  in  all  their  future.  But  an  increasing  num- 
ber of  city-bred  lads  are  studying  agriculture  and 
are  taking  up  farms.  Many  men  who  have  accumu- 
lated a  competence  are  returning  to  the  land.     It 

262 


THE  OPPORTUNITY   OF  THE   RURAL  CHURCH      263 

is  easy  for  persons  moving  from  the  country  to 
the  city  to  be  lost  to  the  church,  and  thousands 
drop  out  every  year  in  the  process.  Far  easier  is  it 
for  those  moving  from  the  city  to  the  country  to 
fall  away  from  the  church  since  they  are  less  ready 
to  share  in  the  social  life  of  the  new  community. 
The  country  man  is  eager  to  get  into  touch  with 
the  community  life  of  the  city,  but  it  is  only  the 
broader-minded  city  folk  who  seek  to  identify  them- 
selves with  the  people  among  whom  they  have  taken 
up  land.  The  country  church  must  be  an  institu- 
tion to  reckon  with  if  it  is  to  command  the  respect 
and  support  of  the  migrators  from  the  city. 

The  opportunity  of  the  country  pastor  is  little 
understood  now  and  little  appreciated.  Young  men 
from  the  seminaries  want  a  city  church.  A  third- 
rate  church  in  the  city  is  preferred  to  a  first-rate 
church  in  the  country.  This  is  not  because  the 
young  minister  is  unwilling  to  make  sacrifices  and 
wants  a  pleasant  berth.  He  is  willing  to  endure 
hardship  if  only  it  is  to  some  purpose.  He  is  ready 
for  sacrifice  if  he  can  see  the  good  of  it.  What 
he  wants  is  a  chance  to  be  of  the  widest  use,  and 
the  city  seems  to  him  a  larger  field  than  the 
country. 

It  sounds  like  a  contradiction,  but  the  greater 
the  number  of  people  among  whom  the  average 
minister  works  the  smaller  the  number  to  whom  he 
ministers.  In  the  great  city  he  ministers  only  to 
the  few  hundreds  who  attend  his  church.  He  may 
get  into  fairly  intimate  contact  with  these,  but  out- 


264      THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

side  of  that  small  circle  he  doesn't  exist.  Not  even 
the  people  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  church  know 
him,  but  only  the  few  who  are  members  of  the 
church.  In  the  metropolis  there  are  but  one  or 
two  ministers  who  are  personalities  outside  of  their 
own  congregations.  Of  other  vocations  the  same  is 
true;  there  are  few  men  in  business  or  politics  in 
New  York  who  are  personalities  beyond  a  narrow 
circle.  In  the  town  the  minister's  personality 
reaches  a  larger  number,  and  in  the  village  or  the 
country  it  reaches  the  whole  community.  The  city 
minister  preaches  to  a  small  group  of  people  on 
Sunday  and  only  to  them,  but  the  rural  pastor  is 
not  so  limited,  for  his  personality  preaches  for  him 
day  and  night.  What  a  man  stands  for,  if  he  is 
minister  in  a  rural  community,  is  known  by  the 
people  of  other  churches  than  his  own  and  by  the 
people  of  no  church  connection.  The  minister  who 
touches  three  hundred  souls  in  the  city  might  touch 
three  thousand  souls  in  the  town. 

In  the  country  the  church  is  a  more  marked  in- 
stitution than  in  the  city.  It  is  the  dominating  fea- 
ture in  the  village.  Even  in  the  most  progressive 
towns  only  two  buildings  are  in  the  same  class  with 
it,  the  high  school  and  the  court  house.  It  has 
direct  and  immediate  access  to  all  the  life  of  the 
community.  It  is  easy  to  keep  in  the  very  center 
of  the  field  of  consciousness  of  the  town  as  it  is 
not  easy  in  the  city.  There  is  no  community  inter- 
est, no  moral  agency,  no  social  force,  which  the 
minister  cannot  touch  if  he  will.     He  can  use  all 


THE   OPPORTUNITY   OF   THE   RURAL   CHURCH      265 

the  capital  of  his  personality,  invest  all  his  resources 
and  put  into  practice  all  his  gifts. 

With  these  great  advantages  a  country  pastorate 
has  equally  great  disadvantages.  The  first  is  the 
lack  of  stimulus  to  the  preacher.  While  his  per- 
sonality preaches  for  him  all  the  time  and  to  the 
whole  community,  there  are  few  who  come  to 
hear  his  sermons.  Not  only  are  his  audiences  small 
but  they  are  without  variety.  The  preacher  lacks 
the  spur  which  comes  from  seeing  new  faces  in  his 
audience  from  Sunday  to  Sunday.  He  and  his  peo- 
ple know  one  another  so  intimately  that  they  do 
not  challenge  him  to  his  best.  It  takes  a  really 
great  spirit  to  keep  up  to  his  highest  standard  of 
preaching  without  an  outside  stimulus.  Very  few 
of  us  are  big  enough  to  be  our  own  stimulus  year 
after  year.  How  can  the  country  church  be  reor- 
ganized so  as  to  supply  this  lack? 

The  stimulus  of  new  personalities  and  new  situa- 
tions could  be  supplied  by  associating  the  rural 
church  wherever  possible  with  some  urban  church. 
The  city  church  and  village  church  could  be  formed 
into  a  kind  of  circuit,  each  preserving  its  local 
autonomy  and  each  responsible  for  its  own  ex- 
penses. Better  still  would  it  be  if  the  official  boards 
of  the  two  churches  could  occasionally  meet  to- 
gether to  decide  the  problems  of  each  and  to  unite 
in  the  closest  possible  way  the  life  of  both.  City 
and  country  are  now  so  accessible  to  one  another 
that  such  conferences  could  be  easily  arranged.  At 
any  rate  the  ministers  should  combine  forces  for 


266       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF   THE   CHURCH 

the  working  of  the  two  fields.  Each  could  educate 
the  other  as  to  the  problems  of  widely  differing 
communities,  and  they  could  work  them  out  to- 
gether. They  could  frequently  preach  in  one  an- 
other's pulpits  and  share  the  responsibility  of  the 
two  parishes.  If  any  church  be  unwilling  to  ex- 
change now  and  then  its  minister  with  another 
church,  that  church  isn't  yet  Christian  and  isn't 
ready  to  do  the  business  of  the  Kingdom  in  a 
large-minded,  unselfish  and  energetic  way. 

The  greatest  disadvantage  to  a  country  pastorate 
is  the  inadequate  financial  support  which  it  entails. 
Though  the  minister  is  in  many  cases  isolated  and 
is  removed  from  much  that  he  loves — music,  libra- 
ries, art  galleries,  lectures  and  other  intellectual 
stimuli — this  would  be  in  part  compensated  for,  if 
he  had  the  means  to  buy  books  and  the  opportunity 
to  travel.  His  income  is  often  so  meager  that 
these  are  denied  him.  The  complaint  is  sometimes 
made  that  the  minister  has  no  message,  that  the 
preacher  has  nothing  vital  to  say,  and  that  this  is 
the  reason  men  do  not  go  to  church.  What  is 
to  be  expected  of  the  minister  who  receives  but 
a  few  hundred  dollars  a  year?  He  may  have  had 
good  preparation  for  the  pulpit,  but  he  must  keep 
abreast  of  the  times,  he  must  be  a  constant  student 
and  a  wide  reader  of  the  best  literature.  His 
mind  must  be  kept  enriched  if  it  is  to  remain  fresh 
and  creative.  But  many  a  minister,  particularly  the 
minister  of  a  country  church,  receives  so  little  that 
he  has  all  he  can  do  to  buy  food  and  clothing  for 


THE   OPPORTUNITY   OF   THE   RURAL   CHURCH      267 

his  body  and  his  family,  though  his  mind  is  hungry 
and  famishing. 

Rural  pastorates  are  always  unworthy  of  a  man's 
best  efforts  where  there  are  six  churches  in  a 
community  which  would  be  better  served  by  one. 
The  minister  of  a  whole  community,  not  having 
five  others  to  divide  up  the  territory  with  him, 
would  feel  that  he  had  a  real  task.  The  one-in-six 
minister,  with  only  a  handful  of  people  who  call 
him  pastor,  feels  that  he  hasn't  a  man's  job,  and 
he  spends  most  of  his  time  planning  to  get  away. 
He  fails  to  see  the  opportunities  for  service  that 
do  exist  and  thinks  of  his  position  as  one  to  be 
endured  only  until  he  can  find  another  church. 
Rural  churches  suffer  because  men  go  to  them  as  a 
makeshift  until  they  can  get  settled  in  the  city. 
One  has  known  a  minister  who  accepted  the  call 
of  a  church  but  did  not  unpack  his  books.  There 
are  many  cases  where  ministers  do  not  unpack 
their  minds.  They  regard  the  church  not  as  a 
field  but  as  a  perch.  And  perhaps  the  most  pa- 
thetic spectacle  conceivable  is  that  of  ministers 
anchored  unwillingly  in  the  country,  staying  on  only 
because  they  cannot  go  elsewhere.  Such  ministers 
and  the  churches  they  serve  are  sunk  in  profound 
discouragement  and  depression. 

This  multiplication  of  churches  and  the  scant 
support  which  the  policy  means  for  each  will  be 
treated  more  at  length  in  a  later  chapter.  Let  me 
here  state  one  factor  in  the  situation  because  it 
points  to  the  task  to  be  undertaken  immediately: 


26S      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

the  country  has  lagged  behind  the  city  in  the  process 
of  socializing  the  life  of  its  people.  The  city  has 
light  and  water  and  parks  and  means  of  trans- 
portation which  all  use  together.  The  city  has  a 
multitude  of  interests  that  do  away  with  provincial- 
ism and  obscure  competition.  The  farmer's  life  cen- 
ters largely  in  his  own  farm.  He  has  little  concern 
for  community  welfare.  Until  recently  he  objected 
to  being  taxed  for  good  roads,  which,  with  the  pub- 
lic school,  is  the  only  thing  in  the  country  used 
in  common.  He  is  the  natural  competitor  of  all 
other  farmers.  There  is  ''no  common  socializing 
experience,"  as  Dr.  Wilson,  a  discerning  student  of 
country  conditions,  points  out.^  Men  in  the  country 
have  no  natural  meeting  places,  since  the  passing 
of  the  country  store  remote  from  the  railroad.  On 
Saturday  afternoon,  their  only  leisure  time,  they 
drive  into  town  where  all  are  in  a  measure  aliens 
and  each  goes  his  own  way. 

This  competitive  spirit  has  been  carried  over  into 
the  church.  The  very  life  of  the  church  is  thought 
to  depend  upon  it.  Some  honestly  hold  the  view 
that  if  the  Methodist  Church  were  taken  out  of  a 
neighborhood  the  Presbyterian  Church  would 
languish,  and  vice  versa.  In  fact  there  are  men  in 
most  rural  communities  whose  only  apparent  attach- 
ment to  the  church  grows  out  of  the  desire  to  see 
their  church  outstrip  that  of  their  neighbor. 

The  first  duty  of  the  rural  church  is  therefore  to 

*  Warren  H.  Wilson,  Ph.D.,  "The  Church  of  the  Open 
Country,"  p.  178. 


THE  OPPORTUNITY  OF  THE  RURAL   CHURCH      269 

develop  the  community  spirit.  Its  program  must 
be  reorganized  with  a  view  to  community  salvation. 
The  test  of  any  church  is  found,  as  Dr.  Gladden 
says,  in  the  social  conditions  of  the  community  to 
which  it  ministers.  No  church  becomes  decadent 
so  long  as  it  serves  the  community.  The  country 
church  has  been  slower  than  the  church  in  the  city 
to  adjust  itself  to  the  changing  needs  of  the  com- 
munity. It  has  been  content  with  the  narrowest 
range  of  ministry.  It  has  had  no  wide  vision 
for  its  task.  It  has  been  content  with  a  preaching 
service  and  a  Sunday  School  and  has  not  grappled 
with  the  community  problems  which  are  in  crying 
need  of  solving. 

An  opportunity  for  socializing  the  life  of  the 
community  lies  ready  to  the  hand  of  the  church 
in  its  religious  festivals.  Not  only  Thanksgiving 
and  Christmas  and  Easter  are  occasions  for  bringing 
all  the  neighborhood  together,  but  the  church  should 
take  the  lead  in  a  "safe  and  sane  Fourth"  and  in 
other  patriotic  demonstrations.  Nothing  has  greater 
possibilities  for  rejuvenating  a  community  than  Old 
Home  Week  when  all  who  have  gone  out  from  a 
community  are  brought  back  home.  If  Ihey  cannot 
come  in  person  they  should  be  asked  to  send  a 
letter  and  a  contribution  to  some  community  im- 
provement.^   People  moving  to  the  city  usually  re- 

*A  reunion  of  the  little,  disheartened  Plum  Creek 
Church  in  Pennsylvania  revealed  the  fact  that  former 
members  of  the  church  had  come  into  possession  of  fif- 
teen millions  of  dollars. 


270      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

tain  their  membership  in  the  home  church,  for  no 
institution  has  a  more  tenacious  hold  upon  its  mem- 
bers. This  sentimental  attachment  should  be  taken 
advantage  of  and  turned  to  some  practical  purpose. 
Old  Home  Week,  if  it  accomplish  nothing  more, 
will  make  for  community  self-respect  and  pride 
when  it  shows  the  contribution  made  by  the  com- 
munity to  the  big  world. 

A  kind  of  community  enterprise  which  would 
mean  much  for  rural  sections  is  cooperative 
buying  and  selling.  Cooperative  stores  have 
never  been  a  success  in  America,  but  in  a 
country  where  the  combine  and  trust  have  reached 
such  a  stage  of  perfection  and  power,  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  average  man  shouldn't  combine  with 
his  fellows  for  the  advantage  of  all.  Our  intelligent 
farming  class  have  been  slow  to  realize  how  much 
more  they  could  get  out  of  the  soil  with  better 
market  facilities,  and  how  much  less  their  supplies 
would  cost  them  if  they  eliminated  a  small  army  of 
middlemen.  Now  produce  is  shipped  to  the  great 
city,  and  by  a  circuitous  route  it  reaches  the  con- 
sumer, worth  much  less  but  bought  at  two  or  three 
times  the  price  the  farmer  gets  for  it.  Now  farm 
products  are  railroaded  to  the  distant  city  and  then 
returned  for  distribution  to  the  town  or  village  but 
a  few  miles  distant  from  where  they  were  raised. 
Now  the  farmer  buys  his  tools  and  machinery  and 
seed  in  the  most  expensive  market,  whereas  he 
might  have  them  direct  from  the  producer  with  but 
one  profit  to  pay.    The  capable  minister  who  taught 


THE   OPPORTUNITY   OF   THE  RURAL   CHURCH      2/1 

the  theory  of  cooperative  buying  and  selling,  and 
organized  the  practice,  would  make  a  real  contribu- 
tion to  community  spirit  and  would  render  a  real 
service  in  the  way  of  fraternity,  economy  and 
efficiency. 

A  wave  of  civic  pride  is  now  sweeping  over  the 
country.  A  new  community  consciousness  is  being 
developed.  Even  the  smaller  towns  are  organizing 
civic  betterment  societies.  The  beautifying  of  towns 
and  villages,  the  improvement  of  transportation 
facilities,  the  securing  of  better  roads,  better  water, 
better  light,  better  sewage  disposal, — these  are  the 
absorbing  new  interests  of  the  whole  country.  In 
this  movement  for  community  salvation  the  church 
should  take  a  leading  part.  In  early  New  England 
communities  the  church  was  the  place  for  the 
town  meeting  and  the  center  of  the  community 
life,  and  the  church  was  a  power  in  the  community. 
Only  as  the  church  puts  itself  at  the  service  of  the 
community  will  it  regain  that  central  place. 

Many  far-seeing  men  are  saying  that  the  coun- 
try minister  ought  to  have  special  training  for  his 
parish.  It  is  urged  that  the  divinity  curriculum 
should  be  augmented  by  courses  in  scientific  farm- 
ing so  that  the  minister  could  touch  intelligently  and 
constructively  the  industrial  life  of  his  parish,  for 
the  more  intimately  a  minister  can  identify  himself 
with  the  interests  of  his  people  the  greater  his 
chance  of  usefulness.  But  even  if  such  special 
training  has  not  been  received,  the  minister  can 
equip  himself  to  be  in  every  sense  the  leader  and 


2^2      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

guide  of  the  country  community.  He  has  a  trained 
brain,  he  has  time  for  study  and  observation,  and 
abundant  literature  is  available.  He  can  get  help 
from  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  lecturers  will 
be  furnished  by  the  agricultural  colleges,  and  the 
minister  can  prepare  himself  without  great  difficulty 
to  speak  intelligently  and  suggestively  on  such  mat- 
ters as  intensive  farming,  fruit  culture,  the  fertiliza- 
tion of  the  soil,  and  the  selection  of  the  most  pro- 
ductive crops.  What  better  use  could  be  made  of 
the  Sunday  evening  service  than  to  have  such 
themes  presented,  the  opening  address  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  free  discussion  from  the  floor?  In  some 
country  churches  the  evening  service  is  attended 
only  by  a  handful  of  people  and  the  preacher  frets 
his  soul  over  it.  Either  let  the  useless  service  be 
discontinued  or  made  use  of  in  some  way  to  interest 
the  community. 

In  many  notable  instances  the  country  minister 
has  remolded  the  social  and  industrial  life  of  a  com- 
munity as  well  as  its  religious  life.  Let  me  refer 
to  but  one.  When  the  minister  to  whom  this  book 
is  dedicated  was  in  the  prime  of  life  he  took  his 
children  who  were  still  young  to  the  country,  spend- 
ing six  years  on  the  central  farm  of  the  old  planta- 
tion where  their  mother  was  born.  It  was  in  a 
little  pocket  in  the  slave-holding  section  of  southern 
Maryland.  Both  white  and  colored  were  more  im- 
poverished than  during  slave  days.  The  same  crops 
were  raised  as  before  the  war,  and  antiquated 
methods  of  farming  were  still  in  practice.    It  was  a 


THE  OPPORTUNITY  OF  THE  RURAL   CHURCH      273 

belated,  hopeless  community.  But  this  minister  who 
had  never  before  lived  on  a  farm  became  at  once 
the  community  leader.  He  called  the  farmers  to- 
gether, organized  them,  inspired  them,  introduced 
new  crops,  new  machinery,  new  methods  of  fer- 
tilization, new  breeds  of  cattle,  and  new  social  cus- 
toms. In  six  years,  under  his  leadership,  the  old, 
run-down  farms  were  recuperated  and  the  entire 
community  life  transformed.  Those  earlier  condi- 
tions are  to  be  found  to-day  in  only  the  most  re- 
mote neighborhoods,  but  there  are  few  communities 
where  such  constructive  leadership  is  not  needed. 

In  forming  a  program  for  community  service  the 
same  rule  holds  in  the  country  as  in  the  city.  First 
let  a  careful  study  of  the  community  be  made  to 
discover  what  its  needs  are.  Rural  communities  are 
not  like  one  another  any  more  than  urban  commu- 
nities. When  the  minister  and  his  wisest  laymen 
and  women  have  learned  by  means  of  a  survey 
how  best  the  community  may  be  served,  let  the 
church's  program  be  reorganized  to  the  end  that 
it  may  most  efficiently  render  that  service.  Tradi- 
tion and  custom  must  be  set  aside.  No  other  con- 
sideration should  apply  but  this:  How  can  this 
church  be  of  the  largest  service  to  this  community 
in  this  day? 

The  condition  of  the  country  church  is  directly 
involved  in  the  condition  of  country  life  generally. 
Whatever  tends  to  raise  the  standard  of  living  in 
the  country  immediately  enlarges  the  ministry  of 
the  church.    But  the  rural  church  not  only  reflects 


S274      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

the  economic  and  social  condition  of  the  country, 
it  is  a  most  important  factor  in  the  movement  to 
improve  country  life.  Its  power  of  leadership  is 
greater  and  more  immediate  than  that  of  the  city 
church.  A  new  program  for  social  service  is  both 
the  supreme  opportunity  and  the  immediate  duty  of 
the  church  in  the  country. 

City  churches  can  hold  their  own  without  a  social 
program  longer  than  the  country  church,  for  in 
the  city  many  social  forces  are  already  at  work. 
The  very  existence  of  the  country  church  depends 
on  its  being  in  vital  touch  with  the  community  and 
its  making  some  definite  effort  to  help  the  com- 
munity. Here  also  church  cooperation,  without 
which  any  efficient  service  of  the  community  is  im- 
possible, is  more  imperative  than  in  the  city  where 
the  church  is  less  conspicuous  and  its  blunders  and 
weaknesses  are  less  obvious.  If  church  union  is  not 
yet  feasible,  church  cooperation  is  indispensable. 
And  after  church  cooperation  in  small  communities 
there  will  follow  in  quick  succession,  county-wide 
and  then  state-wide  organization  of  the  churches  to 
promote  the  general  social  welfare. 

The  country  church  has  led  the  way  in  temper- 
ance reform  and  it  may  be  the  pioneer  in  church 
federation  and  community  service.  It  may  and  it 
must  if  it  is  to  continue  the  great  dominating,  up- 
lifting influence  of  the  rural  community.  Necessity 
is  laid  upon  it. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  CHURCH   A  SOCIAL  AND  RECREATIONAL  CENTER 

The  gregarious  instinct  in  men  must  be  reckoned 
with  by  every  institution  that  would  minister  to 
humanity.  Why  do  folks  live  together?  At  first 
it  was  for  safety  that  men  lived  in  camps  and  vil- 
lages. For  the  same  reason  they  built  them  cities 
surrounded  by  walls  in  which  they  slept  secure, 
going  forth  in  the  morning  to  till  the  soil  outside. 
Much  later,  when  war  ceased  to  be  the  chief  busi- 
ness of  life  and  when  manufacturing  and  trading 
employed  more  people  than  agriculture,  men  moved 
into  town  to  find  a  means  of  livelihood.  Later  still 
convenience  was  the  motive;  the  convenience  of 
schools,  stores,  light,  water  and  easy  transporta- 
tion,— things  that  go  to  make  up  a  comfortable 
life. 

But  life  in  the  country  to-day  is  as  safe  and  con- 
venient as  life  in  the  city  and  economically  more 
independent.  It  is  the  gregarious  instinct  chiefly 
which  now  turns  people  into  the  city.  The  social 
feelings  have  always  been  a  factor  and  are  at  pres- 
ent the  determining  factor.  In  the  colonial  days 
when  the  best  people  lived  in  the  country  and  when 
the  social  life  of  the  country  was  more  beautiful, 

275 


276      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

more  chivalrous,  more  satisfying  than  that  of  the 
city,  the  pull  of  the  city  was  unfelt.  Let  the  country 
become  once  more  a  place  where  the  instinct  for 
comradeship  and  social  expression  can  be  satisfied, 
and  people  will  no  longer  move  to  the  city.  The 
lure  of  the  city  is  the  love  of  folks.  It  is  the  dearth 
of  social  life  in  the  country  which  loosens  its  hold 
upon  its  children. 

And  yet  one  may  live  in  the  city  and  have  fewer 
points  of  contact  with  his  kind  than  in  the  country. 
The  isolation  of  the  country  is  not  so  hard  to  bear 
as  the  solitude  of  the  city.  No  loneliness  is  so 
dreary  as  the  loneliness  of  the  teeming  street.  So 
upon  arriving  in  the  city  the  country  bred  lad  be- 
gins to  look  about  for  means  to  gratify  the  strong 
social  impulse  which  drew  him  to  the  city.  The 
most  available  resources  are  the  street,  the  show  and 
the  saloon.  Much  of  the  time  they  are  the  only 
available  resources. 

Boys  and  girls  from  the  country  make  their  ac- 
quaintances mainly  on  the  street  or  in  the  theater. 
Now  and  then  one  picks  up  an  acquaintance  who  is 
not  immoral,  but  the  chances  are  the  other  way. 
At  any  rate  a  girl  who  allows  herself  to  be  "picked 
up"  in  this  fashion  oversteps  a  convention  which 
she  regarded  in  the  country,  and  when  one  begins 
an  acquaintance  by  disregarding  conventions  there 
is  always  danger.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A. 
rooms  do  not  entirely  meet  the  case  even  for  the 
limited  number  they  can  accommodate,  because  they 
do  not  furnish  the  companionship  of  the  opposite 


CHURCH  A  SOCIAL  AND  RECREATIONAL  CENTER     2'J'J 

sex  for  which  every  normal  person  has  a  longing. 
Where  the  ^'sitting  room"  of  saloons  furnishes  the 
meeting  place,  harm  is  the  certain  result  for  alco- 
holic liquor  lessens  the  moral  and  rational  control 
over  the  sex  instinct. 

The  movement  against  the  saloon  will  be  inef- 
fectual so  long  as  there  is  nothing  to  take  its  place. 
What  attracts  to  the  saloon  is  its  social  atmosphere. 
Few  young  men  are  the  prey  of  appetite.  To  escape 
from  the  city's  loneliness  they  are  forced  to  the 
saloons  for  their  society.  As  Jack  London  says  in 
"John  Barleycorn,"  "It  isn't  chemical  attraction  that 
leads  men  to  drink  but  the  accessibility  of  drink 
and  the  omnipresence  of  the  saloon.  Wherever  a 
man  turns  he  is  confronted  by  an  open  saloon 
which  bids  him  enter.  For  a  large  group  of  men 
all  roads  lead  into  the  saloon, — their  business,  so- 
cial, fraternal  interests  draw  them  thither."  Sa- 
loons are  the  "poor  men's  clubs."  There  are  no 
initiation  fees  or  dues  but  the  price  of  a  drink. 
A  man  is  always  welcome,  and  if  he  "stands  treat" 
in  his  turn  he  is  on  equal  footing  with  the  rest. 
Homeless  young  men  must  go  somewhere  of  eve- 
nings. They  cannot  always  go  to  the  theater,  for 
they  want  to  talk  and  tell  stories  and  sing  them- 
selves. They  have  no  place  to  go  except  to  a 
saloon  or  grill  room  where  they  must  pay  their  way 
by  buying  drinks.  They  don't  want  the  drink  but 
will  not  be  dead-beats. 

Here  then  the  opportunity  of  the  church  and  its 
duty  are  obvious.    Whatever  the  country  church  can 


278      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

do  to  enrich  the  social  life  of  the  community  will 
hold  people  to  the  soil  and  forestall  the  evils  of 
over-congestion.  And  the  city  church  in  so  far  as 
it  is  a  social  center  provides  that  for  which  the 
country  boy  and  girl  have  left  their  homes. 

This  craving  for  the  society  of  one's  kind  is  a 
natural  and  often  a  religious  instinct,  and  the 
Christian  church  should  supply  it.  The  church  was 
once  a  brotherhood.  The  early  church  was  rich 
in  what  to-day  it  is  poorest — fellowship.  The  most 
chivalrous  venture  of  the  church  was  communism. 
It  did  not  last  but  nevertheless  the  early  Christians 
thought  of  themselves  as  brothers.  Frequent  social 
meals,  known  as  agapae  or  Love  Feasts,  were  held, 
followed  by  the  Lord's  Supper.  When  the  church 
became  a  world  power  it  lost  its  family  character. 
The  real  spirit  of  fraternity  has  never  been  recov- 
ered and  to-day  the  church  is  a  brotherhood  in 
name  only. 

The  great  word  "brother"  is  no  longer  heard  in 
the  church  but  in  the  labor  union  and  the  fraternal 
order.  During  this  present  generation  while  the 
church  has  been  declining  the  lodge  has  been  in- 
creasingly successful  in  reaching  and  holding  men. 
The  lodge  is  a  social  center.  It  is  democratic.  A 
feeling  of  equality  exists  among  its  members.  The 
fraternal  spirit  is  much  more  real  and  pervasive  in 
the  lodge  than  in  the  church.  The  ceremony  of  in- 
itiation impresses  the  significance  of  membership  in 
the  brotherhood.  For  many  the  lodge  has  displaced 
the  church. 


CHURCH  A  SOCIAL  AND  RECREATIONAL  CENTER     279 

The  fraternal  spirit  of  a  church  seems  to  diminish 
as  it  becomes  rich  and  respectable.  Here  the  chief 
offenders  are  they  who  are  otherwise  the  churches 
main  support — the  women.  By  education  and  train- 
ing women  are  not  democratic.  Their  life  is  made 
up  of  many  small  things.  They  have  need  to  pro- 
tect themselves  by  convention  and  tradition.  There 
are  fewer  objective  tests  of  their  worth  and  hence 
social  standing,  an  arbitrary  standard,  has  come  to 
mean  more  to  them  than  to  men.  Those  who  are 
uncertain  of  their  social  position  always  hold  them- 
selves apart.  Since  these  things  mean  more  to  her 
than  to  men  a  woman  may  deliberately  stand  aloof 
from  strangers  when  a  man  would  be  kept  back 
only  by  unintentional  diffidence.  But  in  a  Christian 
brotherhood  there  is  no  place  for  social  distinctions 
and  lack  of  fellowship  is  lack  of  rehgion. 

A  church's  equipment  helps  mightily  in  creating 
the  family  atmosphere,  though  it  is  more  a  matter 
of  spirit  than  of  equipment.  Some  very  badly  ap- 
pointed churches  are  rich  in  fellowship.  Few 
churches  are  situated  in  a  neighborhood  suitable  for 
what  is  known  as  "institutional  work."  Most  are 
family  churches  located  among  the  homes  of  the 
comfortable  and  well-to-do.  All  that  is  needed  to 
make  such  churches  into  social  centers  are  the  fea- 
tures one  would  find  in  the  individual  home,  only  on 
a  larger  cooperative  scale.  The  family  church  must 
be  built  not  merely  with  the  Sunday  congregation 
in  mind  but  also  the  social  activities  of  the  week. 
There  should  be  adequate  Sunday  School  rooms, 


S8o       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

parlors,  dining  room  and  kitchen,  so  that  the  church 
may  be  a  real  center  of  the  social  life  of  the  people. 
The  city  church  must  meet  the  social  needs  of  non- 
churchgoing  folk  if  it  would  minister  to  their  re- 
ligious needs. 

The  church  ought  to  be  made  once  more  a  real 
brotherhood  because  the  world  needs  brothering. 
The  more  we  crowd  into  cities  the  mightier  will  be 
the  longing  for  those  personal  contacts  and  human 
relationships  which  were  so  much  easier  in  the 
towns.  In  the  home  town  each  has  an  immediate 
community  influence.  He  has  a  place  in  the  church, 
a  part  in  the  social  activities  of  the  town,  and  has 
the  exhilarating  sense  that  he  is  needed.  In  the 
city  he  is  merely  a  job-holder  with  no  community 
feeling  and  no  points  of  contact  with  the  city's  life 
save  as  he  touches  it  in  business  and  as  he  goes 
to  its  commercialized  places  of  amusement.  He  is 
welcome  to  attend  church  but  he  does  not  get  ac- 
quainted with  its  members  and  he  finds  no  work 
to  do  in  the  church.  Such  church  attendance  is  so 
unlike  church  attendance  in  the  old  home  where  he 
knew  everybody  and  where  he  felt  he  was  of  some 
service,  that  he  soon  wearies  of  it  and  quits  the 
church  altogether.  The  leakage  here  is  tremendous. 
If  the  church  is  ever  to  hold  its  own,  it  must  dis- 
cover ways  to  touch  in  a  more  intimate  fashion  the 
life  of  the  community  and  means  by  which  it  may 
satisfy  the  craving  for  human  fellowship  and  offer 
an  opportunity   for  service,  to  the  thousand.^  of 


CHURCH  A  SOCIAL  AND  RECREATIONAL  CENTER      281 

eager  young  men  and  women  who  are  just  making 
a  home  for  themselves  in  the  city. 

In  the  city  only  a  small  part  of  the  social  life  of 
the  city  bred  will  center  in  the  church,  but  in  the 
country  the  church  must  be  a  community  center  or 
nothing.  Here  its  accomplishment  is  much  easier. 
Country  folk  live  practically  on  the  same  social 
plane  and  they  can  come  together  more  readily  as 
one  large  family.  They  have  more  things  in  com- 
mon than  city  folk  although  less  community  spirit. 
There  are  many  fewer  interests  pulling  at  them  and 
in  some  quarters  there  is  a  great  dearth  of  interests. 
The  unelaborate  social  activities  of  the  church  and 
the  simple  entertainments  and  diversions  it  can 
afford  do  not  find  a  jaded  appetite  as  in  the  city. 

With  all  the  functions  it  has  delegated  to  school, 
hospital,  fraternal  order  and  charity  organizations, 
the  church  as  a  social  institution  has  left  as  its  best 
opportunity,  to  organize  the  leisure  of  the  people. 
This  is  a  task  of  the  utmost  importance.  Play  has 
an  ethical  character  for  it  is  purely  voluntary. 
Preference  has  to  be  exercised,  which  makes  play 
highly  moral.  When  Goethe  would  study  the  Ger- 
man people  he  studied  them  on  their  holidays,  for 
what  a  man  does  in  his  leisure  shows  what  he  at 
bottom  is.  At  work  a  person's  life  is  marked  out 
for  him,  but  in  his  leisure  hours  he  chooses  for 
himself,  and  it  is  choice  that  gives  the  set  to  the 
soul.  A  Christian  society  should  make  easy  the 
choice  of  the  best. 
Recreation  of  some  sort  is  as  necessary  as  food. 


282       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF   THE   CHURCH 

"The  thing  that  needs  most  to  be  understood  about 
play  is  that  it  is  not  a  luxury  but  a  necessity,"  says 
Mr.  Joseph  Lee,  the  father  of  the  playground  move- 
ment in  this  country;  "it  is  not  something  a  child 
likes  to  have,  it  is  something  he  must  have  if  he 
is  to  grow  up.  It  is  more  than  an  essential  part  of 
his  education ;  it  is  an  essential  part  of  his  growth, 
of  the  process  by  which  he  becomes  a  man  at  all." 
Equally  true  is  it  that  the  normal  adult  mind  needs 
diversion  and  recreation.  Hence  the  play  spirit  has 
established  itself  in  America  as  it  does  among  every 
people  who  have  outgrown  pioneer  conditions. 

The  church  has  an  immense  opportunity  in  direct- 
ing the  play  spirit  and  in  organizing  leisure.  All 
too  rapidly  the  play  spirit  has  become  commercial- 
ized. The  appetite  for  amusement  is  never  bad, 
but  the  way  in  which  it  is  satisfied  often  is.  The 
trouble  is  right  here;  people  have  forgotten  how 
to  amuse  themselves,  and  amusement  is  supplied  for 
them.  The  character  of  the  amusement  furnished 
may  be  good  or  bad  but  the  fact  that  it  has  to  be 
furnished  is  bad.  Uncommercialized  amusement 
must  be  restored;  people  must  be  given  means 
of  amusing  themselves.  Some  equivalent  of  the 
singing  school  and  spelling  match  and  apple  paring 
and  husking  bee  and  the  debating  club  and  dramatic 
society  must  be  found. 

The  average  city  church  cannot  afford  the  recre- 
ational equipment  necessary  to  compete  with  com- 
mercialized places  of  amusement.  But  experts  in 
boys'  work  affirm  that  the  best  work  with  boys 


CHURCH  A  SOCIAL  AND  RECREATIONAL  CENTER      283 

done  in  a  church  is  the  non-equipment  type.  A 
leader  of  the  right  spirit  can  do  without  apparatus, 
and  without  the  right  spirit  of  leadership  apparatus 
is  worthless.  Billiard  tables  and  perhaps  a  bowling 
alley  for  the  men  and  women  as  well  as  boys  and 
girls  is  the  utmost  to  which  the  average  family 
church  need  go.  But  the  church  can  influence  the 
play  spirit  of  the  city  if  Christian  business  men 
would  erect  amusement  palaces  for  all  sorts  of 
indoor  recreation  without  the  sale  of  liquor,  which 
would  keep  young  people  away  from  the  saloon  and 
out  of  harm's  way.  This  can  be  done  and  is  done 
at  a  profit  as  a  business  proposition. 

An  interesting  illustration  of  what  can  be  done 
in  the  country  is  the  Amenia  Field  Day  which  has 
been  described  as  "an  experiment  in  cooperative 
recreation,"  ^  To  quote  from  its  program,  "The 
Amenia  Field  Day  offers,  as  a  substitute  for  the 
commercialized  fair,  a  free  day  of  wholesome  en- 
joyment, supported  by  the  united  efforts  of  the 
whole  community.  One  day  a  year  the  people  of 
Amenia  invite  the  whole  countryside  to  such  a  day 
of  clean  and  simple  recreation,  without  gamblers, 
fakers,  intoxicating  liquors,  or  vulgar  sideshows. 
Admission  to  our  festival  is  free  to  all."  A  variety 
of  games  and  entertainment  that  will  take  in  every- 
one, young  and  old,  of  both  sexes,  is  provided. 
On  every  program  these  principles  are  printed: 

^Amenia  is  a  little  town  in  Dutchess  County,  N.  Y. 
For  a  fuller  account  see  "The  Survey,"  September  13,  1913. 


284       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

"You  have  got  to  make  the  country  as  attractive 
socially  as  the  city  if  you  want  to  keep  the  young 
folks  on  the  farms. 

"There^s  a  good  deal  of  work  in  the  country,  but 
most  of  our  boys  and  girls  have  forgotten  how  to 
play. 

"Baseball  is  a  splendid  game,  but  it  isn't  the  only 
one.  Every  healthy  boy  should  be  interested  in  at 
least  half  a  dozen  others.  Don't  merely  watch  oth- 
ers play  games ;  play  them  yourself. 

"You  can't  drink  strong  drink  and  be  an  athlete. 
Get  your  boys  interested  in  honest  and  healthy 
sports,  and  save  them  from  drink  and  dissipation. 

"Contests  and  competitions  are  not  the  main 
thing.  The  strong  compete  and  grow  stronger; 
the  weak  look  on  and  grow  weaker.'  The  main 
thing  is  play.  Learn  the  great  lesson  that  play  is 
just  as  necessary  for  your  sons  as  work. 

"The  community  should  help  to  run  its  own  recre- 
ations. Its  festivals  should  be,  not  only  for  the 
people,  but  of  and  by  the  people." 

The  country  church  is  confronted  by  an  imme- 
diate opportunity  and  obligation  in  providing  for  the 
leisure  time  of  the  people.  The  long  hours,  the 
isolation  and  the  hard  work  of  the  farm  call  as 
loudly  for  play  as  the  dull  monotony  of  the  factory, 
but  in  many  towns  and  hamlets  to-day  there  are  no 
recreational  facilities  save  those  provided  by  nature. 
In  winter  skating  and  coasting  are  the  only  re- 
sources and  in  most  places  the  chance  for  these 
sports  is  small.  At  night  there  is  no  place  for  the 
boys  to  go  and  nothing  to  do  but  to  congregate 
at  the  saloon,  the  barber  shop,  or  the  poolroom 
which  is  usually  of  bad  repute.     In  many  towns 


CHURCH  A  SOCIAL  AND  RECREATIONAL  CENTER      285 

the  saloon  has  been  voted  out  and  the  Christian 
men  of  the  place  think  that  when  they  have  voted 
it  out  they  have  done  all  they  can  to  safeguard 
the  boys. 

You  cannot  shut  the  door  of  the  saloon  and  keep 
it  shut  unless  you  open  some  other  door.  Boys 
must  meet  their  kind.  They  must  have  something 
to  do.  They  cannot  be  kept  at  home  sitting  on  a 
haircloth  chair  in  the  parlor — unless  they  are  milk- 
sops. Nothing  ought  so  justly  to  excite  indignation 
as  the  stupidity  with  which  the  church  people  of 
the  average  town  treat  the  boy.  They  leave  him 
unprovided  for  in  his  leisure,  supply  him  with  no 
means  to  amuse  himself,  and  then  wonder  that  he 
goes  to  the  devil. 

There  is  more  vice  in  the  town  than  in  the  city, 
more  in  the  village  than  in  the  town,  and  more  in 
the  country  than  in  the  village,  because  in  each 
case  there  is  less  to  do.  The  village  church  must 
at  once  address  itself  to  the  task  of  filling  up  the 
leisure  time  of  boys  and  girls  and  men  and  women 
with  wholesome  recreation  and  diversion.^  Where 
the  town  is  large  enough  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  man  or 
some  trained  organizer  of  play  should  be  employed 
to  direct  recreation  and  to  develop  community  spirit. 
In  many  towns  such  a  man  is  now  employed  and 

*The  Mormon  church  has  shown  great  wisdom  in  this 
regard.  There  is  scarce  a  town  or  hamlet  in  Utah  with- 
out its  hall  for  dancing,  amateur  theatricals  and  other 
forms  of  recreation.  What  the  young  people  will  have 
anyway,  often  with  moral  risk,  the  church  provides  them. 


286       THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF   THE   CHURCH 

IS  at  work  without  a  building  and  with  no  equip- 
ment but  an  office  and  a  stenographer.  He  is  the 
official  "mixer"  of  the  town,  the  steerer  and  or- 
ganizer of  all  the  interests  of  young  men  and  boys. 
In  some  places  he  is  by  appointment  a  member  of 
the  police  force  and  thus  has  back  of  him  the 
authority  of  the  law  as  well  as  the  good  will  of  the 
churches.  He  is  in  short  a  Christian  policeman 
turned  loose  on  the  community.  Such  a  plan  can 
be  followed  in  most  places.  Any  group  of  business 
men  would  readily  see  the  value  of  such  a  man 
and  could  easily  finance  him. 

Where  such  a  specialist  may  not  be  had  the 
ministers  and  the  church  men  themselves  should 
undertake  the  work.  In  summer,  swimming  is  an 
unfailing  source  of  joy,  and  many  villages  could 
have  swimming  baths  at  small  cost  by  taking  ad- 
vantage of  natural  water  supplies.  Winter  and 
summer,  in  city  and  country,  the  Boy  Scout  organi- 
zation ^  is  an  immense  resource.  The  instruction 
given  in  this  organization  is  an  excellent  supplement 
to  instruction  in  the  Bible  School. 

There  are  few  churches  that  couldn't  afford  to 
put  a  billard  table  and  other  interesting  games  in 
their  Sunday  School  rooms,  or  the  prayer  meeting 
room,  where  of  an  evening  the  young  people  could 
play  under  the  lead  of  some  man  who  hasn't  for- 
gotten that  he  was  a  boy.  I  am  very  sure  that 
the  wise  God  would  be  as  much  pleased  to  see  a 

*Full  information  may  be  had  by  addressing  the  Boy 
Scouts  of  America,  200  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City. 


CHURCH  A  SOCIAL  AND  RECREATIONAL  CENTER      287 

group  of  boys  playing  at  billiards  in  some  room  of 
the  church  or  parish  house  on  Monday  night  as 
to  see  a  few  godly  fathers  and  mothers  at  prayer 
in  that  same  room  on  Wednesday  night  while  their 
boys  are  hanging  around  a  disreputable  poolroom. 
If  any  do  not  read  the  mind  of  God  in  such  fashion, 
and  if  they  could  not  adjust  their  minds  to  a  prayer 
meeting  in  a  room  with  a  billiard  table,  then  let 
the  village  poolrooms  be  redeemed.  Let  the  men 
of  the  church  say  to  the  barber  with  whose  shop 
the  poolroom  is  connected  that  if  he  will  run  a  clean 
place  and  forbid  profanity  and  foul  stories  they 
will  patronize  it.  If  a  number  of  the  best  men 
of  the  community  would  take  this  matter  in  hand 
they  could  transform  the  poolrooms  and  social  clubs 
and  dance-halls  and  make  them  as  safe  as  the  ball 
field  or  the  ice  pond.  For  the  boys'  sake  and  God's 
let  us  do  something  besides  condemn  their  amuse- 
ments. 

The  unreasoning  prejudice  of  some  church  peo- 
ple against  amusements  needs  to  be  reconsidered. 
Few  amusements  and  fewer  games  are  harmful  in 
themselves.  Games  that  are  played  with  a  stick  and 
a  ball — tennis,  croquet,  baseball,  bowling,  billiards, 
hockey  and  such  like — are  games  of  skill  with  the 
element  of  chance  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  are 
hence  clean,  pure  sport.  What  is  harmful  is  the 
conditions  under  which  they  sometimes  have  to  be 
played.  If  we  who  are  the  moral  leaders  of  the 
community  do  not  make  it  possible  for  boys  and 
girls  to  play  under  wholesome  surroundings  the 


288       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   CHURCH 

blame  for  their  downfall  will  rest  upon  our  heads 
— for  play  they  must  and  will. 

The  leisure  time  is  the  time  of  greatest  moral 
peril  as  well  as  opportunity.  When  people's  leisure 
is  provided  for,  when  they  find  some  expression  for 
the  social  instincts  and  some  outlet  for  the  instinct 
of  play,  then  are  they  saved  from  those  things  that 
destroy  the  soul  and  devastate  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity.   And  salvation  is  the  church's  business. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

GETTING  THE  CHURCHES  TOGETHER 

Protestantism  makes  for  democracy,  but  it  has 
given  opportunity  to  intellectual  egotism  and  the 
pride  of  opinion.  It  grew  out  of  a  medieval  church 
where  it  was  held  that  different  ideas  could  not 
exist  side  by  side  in  the  same  organization.  Each 
new  idea  was  supposed  to  need  the  clothing  of  a 
new  church  organization,  a  supposition  disproved  by 
the  endless  variety  of  theological  views  found  in 
any  growing  church  to-day.  So  denominations  have 
been  multiplied  until  we  face  a  situation  which  is 
insufferable. 

In  many  communities  there  are  a  number  of 
small,  inefficient  churches  where  one  worthy  church 
would  be  better.  These  churches  are  too  weak  to 
do  anything  but  barely  to  live.  The  struggle  for 
existence  gives  rise  to  a  spirit  of  competition  far 
removed  from  Christian.  The  extremity  to  which 
this  rivalry  will  go  is  shown  in  the  remark  of  an 
inhabitant  of  Indiana  where  a  religious  survey  was 
recently  made,  "If  the  Methodist  church  were  on 
fire  and  if  I  should  happen  to  pass  by,  and  if  there 
were  a  bucket  of  water  standing  near  I  would  kick 
the  bucket  over.'*  These  rivalries  and  contentions 
not  only  negative  the  Christian  spirit  in  church  peo- 
289 


290       THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF  THE   CHURCH 

pie  but  create  a  feeling  of  disgust  and  religious  in- 
difference in  the  extra-church  community. 

The  city  is  under-churched,  but  the  country  is 
over-churched.^  Seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the 
churches  of  the  United  States  are  in  towns  and 
districts  of  2,500  or  less.  Many  of  these  village 
churches  have  no  justification  for  their  existence. 
Let  me  select  one  community  out  of  thousands,  a 
railroad  center  in  New  England.^  It  has  a  few 
under  2,800  inhabitants.  Of  these  1,100  are 
Romanists  who  are  ministered  to  by  one  church. 
For  the  1,700  nominal  Protestants  there  are  five 
churches  with  a  property  investment  of  $59,000. 
The  total  running  expense  is  $5,775,  of  which  the 
five  ministers  receive  $4,400.  The  total  morning 
attendance  on  a  fine  Sunday  was  286,  about  as  many 
as  attended  the  Catholic  church  at  the  same  hour. 
If  there  were  but  one  Protestant  church  the  same 
current  expense  budget  would  provide  an  efficient 
minister  at  $2,500 ;  an  expert  in  religious  education, 
social  service,  work  for  boys,  etc.,  at  $1,200;  and 
leave  $2,075  for  music,  running  expenses  and  benev- 
olent work  outside  of  the  town.  And  it  is  safe 
to  predict  that  not  80  per  cent,  of  the  Protestant 
population  would  then  as  now  remain  outside  the 
church. 

*It  is  computed  that  country  towns  have  one  church  to 
80  people,  while  cities  have  one  to  3,000. 

*The  town  of  Ayer,  Mass.,  carefully  investigated  by 
Waite  Beardsley  and  reported  in  The  Congregationalist 
and  Christian  World  for  April  27,  191 1. 


GETTING  THE   CHURCHES   TOGETHER  2gi 

The  notion  has  persisted  that  the  more  churches 
there  are  the  more  people  will  go  to  church.  The 
facts  are  otherwise.^  Multiplication  of  church 
plants  means  greater  expense  for  maintaining  them, 
more  appeals  for  money  and  keener  competition,  all 
of  which  are  dissuaders  from  church  attendance. 
A  church  partly  filled  means  a  dispirited  service 
which  will  discourage  the  attendance  of  any  but  the 
most  loyal.  Roman  Catholics  attend  church  better 
than  Protestants,  and  they  do  not  multiply  church 
buildings  in  order  to  get  people  to  church.  In  this 
country  as  a  whole  the  Romanists  have  2}^  com- 
municants for  every  sitting  while  Protestants  have 
2^  sittings  for  every  communicant.  In  a  well-or- 
ganized New  England  community  like  Providence 
the  Romanists  provide  20,000  sittings  for  a  popu- 
lation of  102,000  and  the  Protestants  50,000  sittings 
for  a  population  of  86,000  with  an  average  attend- 
ance of  13,000.  In  Bogard  Township,  Davies 
County,  Indiana,  there  is  a  Protestant  population 
of  1,393,  with  9  church  buildings,  491  church  mem- 
bers and  no  resident  minister  since  no  church  can 
afford  to  keep  one;  the  300  Catholics  have  one 
beautiful  building  in  the  township  and  a  resident 
priest. 

Overlapping    and    waste    in    some    communities 

^The  conclusions  of  Charles  Otis  Gill  and  Gifford 
Pinchot  in  "The  Country  Church"  are  that  "the  more  nu- 
merous the  churches  the  greater  the  loss  in  attendance  in 
the  last  twenty  years." 


292        THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH 

means  neglect  in  others.  In  a  town  of  four  hun- 
dred people  in  Colorado  there  are  four  churches, 
all  supported  by  home  mission  boards,  and  there 
are  many  other  towns  in  like  condition.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  the  same  state  there  are  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-three  communities,  ranging  in  pop- 
ulation from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  one  thou- 
sand souls,  without  Protestant  churches  of  any 
kind,  one  hundred  of  them  being  also  without  a 
Roman  Catholic  church.  The  Neglected  Fields 
Survey  in  fifteen  western  states  by  the  Home  Mis- 
sions Committee  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America  shows  that  in  one 
state  seventy-five  thousand  people  reside  five  miles 
or  more  from  any  church.  A  rich  valley  with  a 
population  of  five  thousand,  capable  of  supporting 
fifty  thousand  people,  had  but  one  church.  In  an- 
other state  fourteen  counties  had  but  three  perma- 
nent places  in  each  for  worship. 

Because  of  this  subdivision  of  churches,  ministers 
are  underpaid  and  are  unable  to  secure  that  equip- 
ment which  is  necessary  for  their  intellectual  stim- 
ulus and  mental  growth.  Outside  of  the  125  largest 
cities  in  the  United  States  the  average  salary  of 
ministers  is  $636  a  year.  In  one  denomination  the 
average  salary  is  $334.  The  wage  of  a  common 
laborer  is  $460  a  year,  and  the  better  maid  servants 
in  the  cities  receive  from  $300  to  $500  with  board. 
According  to  the  Department  of  Labor  the  average 
income  of  stablemen  is  $689,  of  pumpmen  $685,  of 


GETTING  THE   CHURCHES  TOGETHER  293 

blacksmiths  $537.^  The  highest  average  salary  for 
a  minister  shown  by  any  denomination  is  $1,221. 
The  largest  Protestant  denomination,  excluding  the 
big  cities,  shows  an  average  of  $608.  Two-thirds 
of  the  ministers  are  not  receiving  a  living  wage. 
Half  of  them  are  serving  churches  which  are  so 
small  because  of  denominational  duplication  that 
they  cannot  pay  a  living  wage.  Not  only  are  the 
majority  of  ministers  underpaid  but  many  of  them 
are  subjected  to  the  humiliation  of  collecting  their 
own  meager  salaries.  It  is  just  because  churches 
are  so  foolishly  multiplied,  so  feeble  and  small- 
minded  and  inefficient  that  few  of  our  best  young 
men  go  into  the  ministry.  The  sacrifice  demanded 
is  of  the  unheroic  sort  for  it  accomplishes  so  little 
good.  No  red-blooded  young  man  wants  to  wear 
himself  out  in  the  miserable  business  of  church 
competition  when  there  are  so  many  big  causes  to 
fight  and  die  for. 

The  multiplication  of  churches  produces  all- 
round  failure  in  church  efficiency.  Lake  Township, 
Wayne  County,  Pa.,  for  example,  has  a  population 
of  1,200.  There  are  10  churches  and  two  other 
congregations  meeting  in  school  houses,  with  an  av- 
erage membership  of  29 ;  $4,180  are  raised  by  these 
churches  each  year  with  $500  sent  in  by  mission 
boards;  ten  ministers  are  engaged  in  preaching,  40 
is  the  average  attendance ;  $750  is  the  highest  salary 
and  it  is  received  by  the  only  man  with  both  col- 

*The  union  scale  of  wages  for  skilled  trades  is  very 
much  higher. 


294       THE   RECONSTRUCTION   OF   THE   CHURCH 

lege  and  theological  training,  while  7  of  the  minis- 
ters have  little  more  than  high  school  training.  In 
Missouri  the  average  membership  of  the  country 
church  is  53.  In  23  villages  averaging  241  persons 
to  a  village  there  are  56  churches.  Four  villages 
have  four  churches  each  and  two  of  them  have  less 
than  225  inhabitants.^  These  half-dead  rural 
churches  have  no  men's  organizations,  and  under- 
take no  community  service.  The  districts  are  desti- 
tute of  facilities  for  recreation  and  amusement,  the 
land  is  growing  poorer,  and  the  people  are  in 
every  way  belated. 

In  a  recent  survey  of  three  counties  in  Indiana 
the  surprising  discovery  was  made  that  a  very 
much  larger  percentage  of  teachers  than  of  minis- 
ters have  received  training  beyond  a  common  school 
course — 91  per  cent,  as  compared  with  63  per  cent. 
That  is,  the  teachers  provided  to  instruct  little 
children  in  elementary  schools  are  of  higher  grade 
than  the  men  set  for  instruction  in  morality  and 
for  leadership  in  community  service.  It  is  obvious 
that  a  neighborhood  which  can  afford  well  paid 
school  teachers  could  afford  adequate  religious 
teachers.  But  there  are  so  many  churches  that  if 
every  soul  in  the  community  went  to  church  there 
would  be  only  a  handful  in  each,  and  only  a  small 
salary  can  be  paid  under  the  circumstances. 

The  multiplication  of  little  sectarian  churches 
means  absentee  pastors  which  is  the  crux  of  the 

*  These  figures  are  quoted  from  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Odell 
in  Munsey's  Magazine,  1912. 


GETTING  THE   CHURCHES   TOGETHER  295 

rural  church  problem  in  the  South  and  West.  In 
Ohio  three  out  of  ten  of  the  owners  of  farms  are 
absentees,  but  of  the  preachers  in  the  churches  nine 
out  of  ten  are  absentees.  In  the  Presbyterian  de- 
nomination 3,323  country  churches  on  any  Sunday 
of  the  year  are  not  open  for  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel,  because  the  rural  preacher  divides  his  time 
among  a  number  of  churches,  or  because  the  little 
fraction  of  a  congregation  cannot  afford  a  preacher. 
The  missionary  secretary  of  a  large  Southern  com- 
munion says  that  on  each  Sunday  of  the  year  6,000 
churches  of  his  denomination  will  be  found  closed, 
while  the  secretary  of  another  says  that  the  same 
is  true  of  10,000  church  buildings  of  his  denomina- 
tion.^ If  the  churches  were  united  the  fragmentary 
work  of  the  minister  could  be  assembled  into  pas- 
torates and  each  man  could  reside  among  his  peo- 
ple, serving  as  a  potent  community  influence  and 
bringing  the  churches  of  the  country  up  to  the 
standard. 

Here  is  the  vicious  circle:  Men  have  to  be  se- 
cured for  these  churches  who  are  untrained  for 

*In  a  Missouri  Conference  a  minister  said,  "I  live  in 
the  town  of  Louisiana,  where  I  do  not  preach.  On  the  first 
Sabbath  of  the  month  I  preach  nine  miles  from  Louisi- 
ana; on  the  second  Sabbath,  twenty-five  miles  in  another 
direction,  passing  on  my  way  to  this  church  several  Bap- 
tist churches;  on  the  third  Sabbath  of  the  month  I  preach 
forty-one  miles  from  Louisiana,  and  on  the  fourth  Sab- 
bath of  the  month  sixty  from  Louisiana."  Quoted  by 
Dr.  Warren  H.  Wilson  in  "The  Herald  and  Presbyter," 
Sept.  6,  1913. 


296      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

their  work  and  unequal  to  moral  leadership.  The 
minister  cannot  afford  books,  his  diminutive  con- 
gregation furnishes  no  stimulus,  he  has  no  money 
to  travel,  and  he  is  more  than  human  if  he  main- 
tains any  intellectual  vigor  and  spiritual  power.  A 
dispirited,  impoverished  preacher  reacts  on  his 
church  and  the  congregation  dwindles.  The  church 
reacts  on  him,  and  so  on  to  the  killing  of  man 
and  church.  This  vicious  circle  must  be  broken. 
A  single  church  in  the  community  could  afford  a 
strong  man  for  minister.  The  opportunity  for 
moral  leadership  offered  by  such  a  church  would 
attract  into  the  ministry  men  qualified  for  leader- 
ship. Waste  would  be  saved  and  community  spirit 
would  be  created. 

Denominationalism  is  still  defended  on  the 
ground  that  more  effective  work  and  better  dis- 
cipline are  thus  secured.  The  evidence  is  all  to 
the  contrary.  Nothing  could  be  more  extravagant, 
unbusinesslike  and  inefficient  than  the  present  over- 
lapping of  churches.  No  corporation  would  main- 
tain several  plants  in  the  same  community  with 
different  office  force  and  advertising'  bureaus.  We 
do  not  educate  our  children  by  such  methods,  but 
each  school  takes  care  of  the  neighborhood  in  which 
it  is  situated.  Each  state  has  certain  powers  of 
government,  but  they  are  local.  Suppose  the  New 
York  state  government  extended  to  all  persons  in 
any  part  of  the  country  who  wanted  to  be  counted 
citizens  of  the  Empire  State,  and  that  Indiana^s 
jurisdiction  reached  all  who  wanted  to  be  reckoned 


GETTING  THE  CHURCHES   TOGETHER  297 

Hoosiers,  and  so  on.  What  confusion  and  govern- 
mental inefficiency  would  result!  This  is  just  the 
situation  among  Protestant  churches.  In  some 
cities  one  or  two  churches  of  a  denomination  stand 
alone,  entirely  remote  from  fellowship  with  any 
churches  of  the  same  denomination.  Denomina- 
tionalism  means  to  them  isolation  and  alienation. 

But  it  is  said  that  in  every  community  there  are 
persons  of  different  temperaments  and  that  these 
temperamental  differences  need  different  types  of 
churches  to  express  the  religious  life.  That  again  is 
not  supported  by  the  facts.  In  towns  where  there 
is  the  greatest  variety  of  denominations,  a  type  for 
every  temperament,  the  majority  of  people  fail  to 
find  any  church  home  whatever.  The  multiplication 
of  churches  creates  human  differences  instead 
of  human  differences  demanding  multiplicity. 
Churches  are  not  selected  from  temperatmental, 
but  from  personal  or  social  considerations.*  What 
is  needed  to-day  is  not  a  host  of  differing  churches 
but  a  standardized  church,  combining  the  best  fea- 
tures of  all  existing  types. 

Once  more  we  are  assured  that  we  may  have 
church  unity  even  with  the  present  splitting  up  of 
churches  and  that  unity  is  the  main  thing,  not  union. 

*The  church  of  which  the  writer  is  minister  is  a  kind 
of  half-way  house  for  persons  of  many  denominations. 
They  have  not  betrayed  temperamental  differences  to 
match  their  former  connections.  Usually  persons  are  in  a 
particular  church  simply  because  they  .were  born  in  it  or 
have  some  personal  interest  in  some  of  its  members  or  its 
minister. 


298       THE   RECONSTRUCTION    OF  THE   CHURCH 

This  is  a  wholly  specious  plea,  and  it  can  no  longer 
soothe  us  into  complaisance  over  the  present  status. 
When  churches  are  so  multiplied  we  may  secure 
unity  of  spirit  perhaps,  but  not  even  "perhaps"* 
where  that  multiplication  means  for  each  a  struggle 
to  exist.  Many  communities  are  so  overchurched 
that  the  churches  have  only  strength  enough  to  offer 
resistance  to  each  other  and  none  to  oppose  their 
common  foe. 

Christian  unity  is  in  the  air,  we  are  told,  but 
it  has  the  unfortunate  way  of  staying  there. 
Christian  unity  will  never  be  a  fact  so  long  as  the 
church  is  divided  into  so  many  denominations,  for 
these  are  the  visible  expression  of  discord.  Also 
the  almost  inevitable  result  of  denominational  divi- 
sions is  the  magnifying  of  non-essentials.  What 
excuse  for  being  can  be  given  by  a  Baptist  and 
Presbyterian  and  Methodist  and  Congregational 
church  in  a  community  where  one  church  could 
take  care  of  the  religious  needs  of  the  whole  com- 
munity, unless  each  keeps  before  its  handful  of 
members  its  unimportant  differences?  If  in  such  a 
community  Christian  unity  were  actually  realized, 
nothing  could  prevent  the  struggling  churches  from 
actually  getting  together.  The  spirit  of  unity  when- 
ever it  becomes  strong  enough  will  sweep  aside  the 
petty  differences  that  separate  us  into  so  many 
detached  communions.  The  only  thing  that  stands 
in  the  way  of  church  union  is  the  lack  of  Christian 
unity.  Given  unity  and  naturally  and  inevitably 
union  will  follow. 


GETTING  THE   CHURCHES  TOGETHER  299 

But  even  with  unity  of  spirit  we  can,  under  the 
present  partition,  secure  little  unity  of  action  of 
church  forces,  and  action  is  of  first  importance 
just  now.  Even  in  cities  which  have  a  church 
federation  and  where  there  is  a  maximum  of  fra- 
ternity and  spiritual  unity,  the  churches  have  not 
been  able  to  put  through  any  big  program  for 
community  service,  because  they  are  divided.  Most 
of  the  social  activities  while  inspired  by  the  church 
are  outside  the  churches,  because  they  are  divided. 
No  adequate  scheme  for  publicity  can  be  under- 
taken, because  the  churches  are  divided.  The 
church  has  no  standing  in  politics  and  strikes  no 
fear  into  organized  evil  and  federated  vice,  because 
the  churches  are  divided. 

The  saddest  waste  to-day  is  the  waste  of  religious 
enthusiasm  and  spiritual  impulse  which  are  dissi- 
pated and  lost  because  they  cannot  be  concentrated 
upon  any  adequate  plan  of  social  betterment.  In  the 
face  of  the  church's  social  task,  our  sectarian  dif- 
ferences seem  insignificant.  That  task  is  driving 
us  along  toward  union.  We  have  been  hampered 
and  retarded  by  denominationalism  until  it  is  un- 
endurable, and  the  great  throbbing  social  passion 
which  is  now  felt  throughout  the  church  not  only 
makes  our  differences  contemptible  but  is  pointing 
out  the  way  for  us  to  unite.  We  have  a  new 
program  on  which  to  combine.  Here  we  step  off  the 
old  ground  where  differences  of  opinion  are  sure 
to  arise,  and  here  necessity  is  laid  upon  us  to  join 
forces  if  we  would  meet  the  need  of  social  service. 


300      THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

When  we  really  accept  the  belief  that  the  churches 
exist  for  the  community  and  break  with  the  notion 
that  the  community  exists  for  the  church,  straight- 
way we  will  get  together  in  order  to  render  to  the 
community  the  most  effective  service. 

Efficiency  and  economy  require  the  uniting  of 
the  churches,  first  of  those  groups  whose  policy, 
ritual  and  doctrine  more  or  less  agree,  and  ulti- 
mately of  all  Protestant  denominations.  Not  only 
in  foreign  and  home  mission  fields  but  in  older 
Christian  communities,  the  next  step  must  be  toward 
corporate  church  union.  In  villages  where  there  is 
so  much  overlapping  immediate  action  is  absolutely 
imperative.  Some  difficulties  in  the  way  to  church 
union  exist,  but  they  are  nothing  compared  to  the 
difficulty  of  keeping  many  useless  churches  alive. 
Such  stupidity  and  wastefulness  and  inefficiency  as 
have  characterized  church  operations  in  the  past  are 
intolerable. 

"We  have  passed  out  of  the  epoch  of  polemic 
denominationalism  into  the  glorious  epoch  of  co- 
operative denominationalism."  ^  In  church  gather- 
ings every  suggestion  of  union  is  applauded  to  the 
echo,  and  some  wonder  why  nothing  comes  of  it. 
But  it  is  always  necessary  to  create  sentiment  before 
action,  and  after  years  of  discussion  and  conference 
ideas  fuse  suddenly.  The  fusing  point  has  almost 
arrived.     It  can  be  hastened  if  those  communities 

*  Prof.  Shailer  Mathews  in  address  of  acceptance  as 
President  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ  in  America,  1912. 


GETTING  THE  CHURCHES   TCXJETHER  3OI 

where  the  pressure  is  most  keen  would  take  some 
action  looking  toward  union. 

The  ministers  of  town  and  village  churches  should 
undertake  enterprises  in  common  and  work  to- 
gether in  most  intimate  harmony,  eradicating  the 
last  vestige  of  the  competitive  spirit.  They  should 
unite  if  necessary  to  engage  a  stenographer  who 
would  serve  as  secretary  to  each  in  turn.  They 
should  meet  frequently  to  advise  with  one  another 
over  their  common  problems.  They  should  be  close 
friends  and  set  an  example  to  all  Christian  people. 
The  exchange  of  pulpits  and  the  now  familiar  union 
services  help  to  strengthen  the  get-together  spirit. 
Many  forms  of  cooperation  readily  suggest  them- 
selves wherever  the  spirit  of  unity  exists.  Instead 
of  a  number  of  languishing  prayer  meetings  in  a 
community  let  one  building  be  heated  and  lighted 
and  the  people  of  all  the  churches  unite  in  a  large, 
enthusiastic  meeting  for  prayer  and  conference  led 
by  the  ministers  in  turn.  An  Everybody-at-Church 
Sunday  with  all  the  churches  working  together  in 
canvassing  the  district  is  a  splendid  start  for  the 
year's  campaign.  For  all  enterprises  common  to  all 
the  churches  there  should  be  impartial  publicity, 
the  same  advertising  material  used,  and  no  attempt 
to  favor  one  church  above  another. 

But  let  church  societies  go  further.  If  all  are 
agreed  that  there  are  too  many  churches  in  the 
community,  let  the  members  of  those  churches  get 
together  and  decide  which  of  the  buildings  are  best 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  community.    Then  let 


302       THE  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  THE  CHURCH 

them  agree  to  unite,  using  the  most  adequate  church 
edifices  and  discontinuing  the  use  of  the  others  for 
public  worship.  The  buildings  thus  released  might 
be  turned  into  a  public  library  or  a  community 
house  or  a  recreation  center.  If  there  is  no  need 
for  such  use  of  the  buildings,  or  if  they  could 
not  be  adapted  to  such  uses,  they  should  be  sold 
or  torn  down  and  the  site  turned  into  a  playground 
or  public  park.  Small  church  bodies  can  act  more 
readily  than  the  larger  ones,  and  all  that  is  now 
needed  is  to  get  things  started.  Such  unions  are 
not  a  theory  but  already  in  many  places  a  fact. 
Churches  have  been  successfully  and  happily  united, 
the  united  church  being  affiliated  with  some  na- 
tional church  organization,  and  the  benevolences 
divided  between  the  boards  of  the  several  denomi- 
nations represented.^ 

Only  a  united  church  can  lift  up  Christ  so  as 
to  draw  all  men  unto  Him.  Uniting  the  churches 
would  have  immense  apologetic  value.  This  is 
Christ's  own  plea.  Knowing  the  pride  of  opinion 
and  anticipating  schism  and  division  His  reiterated 
prayer  is  that  all  who  believe  on  Him  might  be  one, 
even  as  the  Father  and  Son  are  one.  He  wanted 
them  to  be  one  "that  the  world  may  believe  that 

*A  good  illustration  is  the  Presbyterian  Union  Church 
of  Owego,  N.  Y.,  where  the  Presbyterian  edifice  and 
Congregational  parsonage  are  retained  for  church  pur- 
poses, while  the  Presbyterian  manse  is  rented  and  the 
Congregational  church  building  was  deeded  to  all  the 
people  of  the  town  as  a  community  center. 


GETTING  THE   CHURCHES  TOGETHER  303 

Thou  didst  send  Me."  Twice  He  gives  this  reason 
for  His  prayer.  Jesus  dared  to  rest  and  risk  His 
commission  on  the  unity  of  His  disciples.  It  was  as 
if  He  had  said,  **If  I  cannot  take  out  of  your  hearts 
all  that  is  divisive,  if  I  cannot  break  down  selfish- 
ness, lift  you  above  littleness  and  prejudice,  and 
knit  your  hearts  into  a  loving  brotherhood,  the 
world  will  not  beHeve  that  I  came  from  God."  His- 
tory seconds  this  plea  of  Jesus.  Christianity  has 
never  made  real  progress  by  dividing  the  body  of 
Christ.  The  mightiest  of  Christian  evidences  is 
Christian  unity. 

The  revival  of  religion  first  needed  in  Christen- 
dom to-day  is  a  movement  toward  the  uniting  of  the 
churches,  for  Christian  unity  will  never  be  secured 
without  church  union.  Talk  about  unity  without 
union  has  taken  on  the  nature  of  cant.  Anyway  the 
time  for  talk  is  past.  The  time  for  action  is  here. 
The  whole  distance  cannot  be  traveled  at  once,  but 
let  the  first  steps  be  taken.  The  big  work  of  evan- 
gelism and  social  regeneration  to  which  Christ  has 
summoned  us,  in  Asia  and  Africa  and  in  America 
and  Europe  as  well,  can  be  done  only  by  a  united 
church. 


INDEX 

Prepared  by  Miss  Hattie  L.  Webber. 


Achievement,  love  of  desirable, 
90;  Christian  definition,  91; 
objects  of,  105. 

Addams,  Jane,  14,  243,  244. 

Advertising,  honesty  in,  39;  the 
church,  250. 

Amenia  Field  Day,  283-4. 

American  Federation  of  Labor, 

63. 
Arbitration,  84. 
Arnold,  Matthew,  172. 
Atheism  of  workingmen,  69. 

Bacon,  Lord,  143- 

Balch,  W.  M.,  57. 

Beckwith,  Clarence  A.,  238. 

Best,  Nolan  R.,  164. 

Bible,'  study  of  at  week-night 
meetings,  196. 

Bible  school,  188-89. 

Booth,  Charles,  138. 

Brotherhood,  67-8,  226;  move- 
ment in  England,  68;  of 
church,  77,  278,  280. 

Browning,  Robert,  8. 

Business,  spiritual  possibilities 
of,  25;  modem,  18,  29-30, 
144;  absorption  of,  28-29; 
offenders,  30;  beginnings  of, 
31;  and  social  service,  32, 
100;  morahty  necessary  for, 
35;  evils  of,  37-8;  as  an  art, 
43-4,  91;  chivalry  in,  97; 
Christianization  of,  99;  finan- 
cial return  of,  99-100;  imag- 
ination in,  loi. 


Canterbury,  Archbishop  of,  18. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  6. 

Charteris,  Col.,  36.^ 

Child  welfare  exhibit,  209-10. 

Christianity,  applied,  4;  and 
social  reconstruction,  10; 
common  desire  for,  17;  mis- 
sion of,  23;  a  people's  move- 
ment, 81;  its  inclusiveness, 
111-2. 

Church,  the  Christian,  what 
for,  107;  where  it  fails,  128; 
why  halted,  144;  advertising 
it,  250;  union,  289;  moral 
leadership  of,  3,  274;  leader- 
ship in,  81,  150,  156-7;  its 
real  work,  3,  4,  18,  49,  62-3, 
70,76,82-3,109,110,118,165- 
6,  207-8,  229,  237,  251;  and 
industry,  19-20,  66-7 ;  not  to 
be  content  with  palliative 
measures,  23;  attendance, 
26,  290;  of  men  and  women, 
28;  lack  of,  52-3,  120,  135; 
lack  of  preparation  for,  176; 
indifference  to,  54,  67,  74; 
attitude  of  "labor"  to,  55, 
75,  138;  and  "labor"  mutu- 
ally necessary,  66;  caste  in, 
77-8;  down-town,  79,  134; 
purpose  of,  107;  as  teacher, 
112;  and  college,  a  parallel, 
113,  122;  secularized,  120-1; 
its  appeal,  124-7;  its  value  in 
community,  130;  its  failure, 
130-1;  retreat  of,  134;  non- 


30s 


3o6 


INDEX 


existent  for  many,  136-8, 
183,  224,  250;  and  city  life, 
139-43;  and  efl&ciency,  145, 
157, 161,163-4, 169, 1 70;  mal- 
adjustment of ,  146;  organiza- 
tion conservative,  155;  mili- 
tancy, 150-1,  158;  program 
adaptable,  i66;  what  is 
"Church  work,"  167;  a  mis- 
si|[nary  enterprise,  167-8; 
promotion  of,  173;  church 
work  classified,  174;  criticism 
of,  175,  260;  Sunday  services 
of,  177-8,  179-81,  183-4; 
and  social  service,  221  fif;  and 
welfare  workers,  222-3;  and 
social  evil,  241-2;  reorganiz- 
ing services  of,  174;  public- 
ity, 250;  should  be  boosted 
by  members,  260;  rural,  262; 
a  social  center,  279-80; 
equipment,  279,  282-3,  286; 
unity  and  union,  298-303. 

Churchill,  Winston,  58. 

City,  the  church  in,  139;  its 
lure,  276. 

Coe,  George  Albert,  50. 

Coffin,  Henry  Sloane,  5. 

Coleridge,  119. 

Competition,  32-5,  86;  a  new 
kind,  23;  for  what  men  have 
competed,  105;  in  rural  dis- 
tricts, 268. 

Cooper  Union,  212. 

Cooperative  buying,  270. 

Country,  social  conditions  in, 
238;  church,  importance  to 
community,  264,  281;  mul- 
tiplication of,  267,  289-90, 
293-5,  297-8;  and  civic  bet- 
terment, 271;  and  social 
service,  274,  284. 

Culture,  Christian,  174,  176-7. 

Democracy,  growth  of,  46,  47, 
III,  289. 


Denominationalism,  296 
Diamond  Match  Co.,  97. 
Ditchfield,  J.  E.  W.,  147. 

Eastman  Kodak  Co.,  new 
treatment  of  inventors,  97. 

Efficiency,  161;  of  church,  145, 
i57»  159;  ^  modern  science, 
161;  biblical  test  of,  164; 
testing  church  institutions, 
170;  exhibit,   172, 

Emotion,  religious,  5. 

Evangelistic     meetings,     148, 


Fair  dealing,  21-2,  23,  46. 

Federal  Council  of  Churches  of 
Christ  in  America,  principles 
of,  71-72. 

Fellowship,  cultivating  reli- 
gious, 197-9. 

German- American  Button  Co., 

47. 
Gill,  Charles  Otis,  291. 
Gompers,  Samuel,  65. 
Good  Samaritan,  232. 
Good  will,   2;  universality  of, 

20,  23;  of  employees  sought, 

103. 
Gore,  Bishop,  63. 
Gospel,  the  demand  for  the  old, 

13;  what  is  the  social,  24. 

Hall,  John,  191, 

Hardie,  Keir,  18,  67,  69. 

Haw,  George,  81. 

Henderson,  Arthur,  82. 

Herron,  G.  D.,  29. 

Horton,  R.  F.,  69,  77. 

Humanity,  the  bottom  interest 
of  religion,  3 ;  value  of,  in  in- 
dustry, 23. 

Hutchinson,  Dr.  Woods,  238. 


INDEX 


307 


Idealism,  in  business,  42-3, 
105;  must  be  recognized 
linked  with  the  church,  50-1, 
69-70. 

Illinois  labor  law,  59. 

Industry,  the  church  and  men 
of,  19-20;  as  an  art,  42-3. 

Industrial,  organization  of 
world,  18;  expansion,  25;  dis- 
putes, 83. 

Jesus  Christ,  applying  His 
principles,  16-7,  23;  mission 
to  poor,  52,  59;  belief  in,  68; 
His  idea  of  greatness,  91;  a 
teacher  of  religion,  109;  His 
work,  231;  His  social  pro- 
gram, 234. 

Kingdom  of  God,  2,  4,  14,  22, 
236. 

Lamb,  Charles,  55. 

Labor,  and  the  church,  55-9, 
70-1,  139;  limit  of  organized, 
65-6;  fraternal  delegates  to 
unions,  64,  73,  74-5. 

Lee,  Joseph,  282. 

London,  Jack,  277. 

Machine,  work,  36;  moral  cost 
of,  43- 

Marriage,  247. 

Mathews,  Shailer,  46,  123,  163, 
300. 

Ministry,  Christian,  not  attrac- 
tive to  some,  150;  its  attrac- 
tions, 1 5 1-3;  opportimities 
and  disadvantages  of  coun- 
try, 263-5,  272-3;  training 
for  country,  271. 

Missions,  222. 

Money,  the  modem  measure  of 
success,  89;  given  to  get  re- 
sults, 230-31. , 


Moral,  instincts  of  men  and 
women  compared,  28;  in- 
stincts necessary  in  business, 
35-6;  issues  and  the  church, 
62-3;  teacher,  necessity  for, 
1 14-16;  leadership  of  minis- 
ter, 154,  156;  efifects  of  social 
and  physical  conditions,  228. 

Mystic  sense,  118. 

Newspapers,  as  moral  teachers, 
115. 

Page,  Thomas  Nelson,  48. 

Palgrave,  158. 

Panama  Canal,  93. 

Parkhurst,  Dr.  Charles  S.,  14, 
64. 

Patents,  unsocial  character  of, 
96. 

PatmoFe,  Coventry,  128. 

Patten,  Simon  W.,  49. 

Peabody,  Prof.,  19,  32,  233. 

People's  Sunday  Evening,  75, 
213-16. 

Personal  work,  210. 

Pinchot,  Gififord,  291. 

Plantz,  Samuel,  2. 

Power,  abuse  of,  40. 

Practical  suggestions,  church 
mailing-list,  252;  cooperative 
advertising,  255;  debates, 
214;  early  Sunday  service, 
179;  invitations,  211;  meth- 
ods for  rural  church,  269, 
301;  organized  group,  239; 
picture  theaters  and  bill- 
boards, 257;  pressing  social 
needs,  240;  publicity  bureau, 
258;  shop-meetings,  204-7; 
street  preaching,  208;  Sun- 
day calls,  184;  survey  of 
field  necessary,  239,  273; 
"talking  points,"  256;  thea- 
ter-meetings,   211-15,    218- 


3o8 


INDEX 


19;  village  boys,  285-6; 
weeknight  meetings,  193-5. 

Prayer-meetings,  189-196. 

Preaching,  one  way  to  secure 
reality  in,  187-8. 

Propaganda,  200;  meetings  for, 
75;  methods  of,  deficient, 
147;  in  Sunday  night  service, 
180;  scientific,  210, 

Prophets,  their  methods  of 
preaching,  7,  120,  148. 

Preacher,  7;  limitations  of,  12, 
13,  182;  criticisms  of,  16;  as 
interpreter,  16-17,  50;  mis- 
sion of,  22,  23,  70-1,  116; 
modem,  175, 177;  longing  for 
souls,  182;  and  non-ch\u:ch- 
going  audience,  216-17. 

Prostitution,    247-8. 

Publicity,  press  agent,  255; 
cost  of,  258. 


Quiz  Club,  following  preaching 
service,  188. 


Rauschenbusch,  Walter,  10, 
102. 

Recreation,  275;  necessary, 
281-2;  organizing  the  peo- 
ple's leisure,  285-6. 

Religion,  and  social  service,  5, 
9;  state  of,  26,  173;  "Anony- 
mous," 27,  49-50;  what  it  is, 
27,  42,  49;  apparent  antago- 
nism to,  68;  subsidized 
teachers  of,  107;  Jesus  a 
teacher  of,  109;  and  physiol- 
ogy, 228. 

Religious  instruction,  108-9, 
III,  112. 

Renan,  115. 

Responsibility  of  employers, 
46-7. 

Revivals,  148,  190,  200,  202-3. 

Roman  Catholic  church,  reli- 


gious teaching,  109-10;  and 

sex  problems,  245. 
Rotation  in  office,  156. 
Rothe,  229. 

Royce,  Prof.,  113,  130. 
Rural  church,  262. 
Ruskin,  231. 


Sagamore  Beach,  163. 

Saloon,  277,  285. 

Seeley,  Sir  John,  7. 

Seminar  method,  discussion  of 
sermon,  186. 

Service,  a  measure  of  great- 
ness, 92-3. 

Sex  relations,  242. 

Sin,  how  to  save  from,  235-6. 

Social,consciousness,prevalence 
of,  i;  service  and  religion, 
4,  221;  responsibility,  9-10; 
gospel,  the  need  of,  i ;  service 
and  business,  31-2;  creed  of 
church,  72;  distinctions  in 
church,  78;  service  of  profes- 
sions, 94-5;  list  of  social 
needs,  240-41;  vice,  241; 
opportunity  of  rural  church, 
269,  273;  attraction  of  sa- 
loon, 277;  service,  221;  cen- 
ter, 275. 

Socialists,  anti-religioue  teach- 
ings of,  68;  methods  of,  149, 
209. 

Society,  changes  in,  88,  103-4. 

Solon,  12. 

Spiritual,  culture  necessary, 
120;  rebirth,  201. 

Statistics,  of  church  growth, 
132,  135;  of  church  member- 
ship, 139;  not  all-important, 
131,  163;  of  churches,  290, 
291;  of  salaries  and  wages, 
292-3. 

Steffens,  Lincoln,  29,  85. 

Strong,  Josiah,  132. 


INDEX 


309 


Success,  modem  measure  of, 
91-2,  96;  Christian  standard, 
98;  not  eflSciency,  162. 

Sunday,  119,  177-9. 

Sunday  Night  Club,  216. 

Tammany  Hall,  226. 
Taylor,  Prof.,  18. 
Teacher,  Jesus  as,  109;  church 
as,  111-12;    newspapers   as, 

"S- 
Trusts,  30,  33. 

Union^and  unity  of  church, 
298-302. 


Vice,  social,  242;  laws  against, 
246;  where  greatest,  285. 

Wage-earners,  classification  of, 

S3- 

Wages  in  England,  58. 

War,  failure  of  church's  teach- 
ing, 22. 

Warbasse,  247. 

Weeknight  meetings,  189-195. 

White,  William  Allen,  88, 
104. 

Wilson,  Warren  H.,  268,  295. 

Workers,  52. 

Worship,  comradeship  in,  118; 
training  for,  123. 


'T^HE    following  pages  contain  advertisements   of  a 
few  of  the  Macmillan  books  on  kindred  subjects 


NEW  BOOKS  ON  RELIGION 


The  Rise  of  Modem  Religious  Ideas 

By  ARTHUR  C.  McGIFFERT 

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wholly  historical  in  character  and  supplements  the  author's  Protestant 
Thought  before  Kant.  "  As  is  well  known,"  says  Dr.  McGiffert,  "  our 
age  is  marked  by  the  growing  abandonment  of  the  old  theology  and 
by  the  increasing  prevalence  of  religious  ideas  differing  more  or  less 
completely  from  those  of  other  days.  It  is  with  these  newer  ideas  that 
my  book  has  particularly  to  do.  It  undertakes  to  trace  their  ongm, 
to  indicate  the  circumstances  under  which  they  have  arisen  and  to  show 
the  influences  by  which  they  have  been  determined." 

The  Gospel  of  Jesus  and  the 
Problems  of  Democracy 

By  henry   C.  VEDDER 

Professor  of  Church  History  in  Crozer  Theological  Seminary  and  author  of  "  Social- 
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Problem  of  Poverty,  The  Problem  of  Lawlessness  —  these  are  the 
topics  of  the  ten  chapters.  The  book  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most 
important  contributions  to  the  study  of  present  day  religion  that  has 
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Man," etc..    Cloth,  ismo.    $1.50  net. 

Dr.  Mathews  here  enters  upon  the  little  explored  territory  of 
social  theology.  His  general  position  is  that  the  scientific  theologian 
should  approach  his  task  through  the  social  sciences,  particularly 
history,  rather  than  through  philosophy.  The  main  thesis  of  the 
book  is  that  doctrines  grow  out  of  the  same  social  forces  as  express 
themselves  in  other  f onns  of  life.  Dr.  Mathews  finds  seven  creative 
social  minds  and  treats  the  development  of  the  various  Christian 
doctrines  as  they  have  emerged  from  the  eariier  of  these  minds  and 
must  be  created  by  our  modem  social  mind.  Such  ^  a  treatment  of 
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a  merely^  scholastic  or  ecclesiastical  matter.  The  study  of  the 
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tianity, gives  a  jDoint  of  view  for  the  study  of  the  intellectual  needs 
of  today's  ^religion.  This  volume  conserves  the  values^  of  the 
religious  thinking  of  the  past,  and  is,  in  addition,  a  positive  force 
in  the  reconstruction  of  the  religious  thinking  of  the  day. 

The  Christian  Life  in  the  Modem  World 

By  Francis  G.  Peabody,  Author  of  "Jesus  Christ 

and  the  Social  Question,"  etc.     Cloth,  i2mo.     $1.25 

net. 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  meet  the  increasing  impression  that 
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be  perpetuated.  There  are  chapters  on  The  Practicability  of  the 
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Social  Christianity  in  the  Orient:  The  Story 
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how  to  think,  how  to  speak,  how  to  hear,  how  to  give,  how  to  serve, 
how  to  win  and  how  to  wait  —  these  are  the  author's  themes.  The 
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Vital  Elements  of  Preaching 

By  Arthur  S.  Hoyt,  Professor  of  Homiletics  and 
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Author  of  "The  Work  of  Preaching"   and   "The 
Preacher.''    Cloth,  i2mo.     $1.50  net. 
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Preacher,  still  another  of  his  works,  places  emphasis  upon  a  vital 
spiritual  personality  in  giving  the  message.     This  volume  touches 
the  temper  of  the  man  both  as  to  the  truth  and  the  lives  of  his  hearers. 
"Preaching,"  writes  Dr.  Hoyt  in  his  preface,  "is  a  social  virtue. 
Nothing  can  be  more  fundamental  to  the  preacher  than  his  human- 
ity.    The  deepest  needs  and  desires  of  the  age  must  be  felt  in  his 
life  if  his  word  interprets  aright  the  gospel  of  the  new  man. " 

The  author  here  discusses  the  psychology  of  preaching,  though 
without  formal  and  philosophic  analysis.  He  always  has  in  mind 
the  question,  How  shall  we  speak  so  as  to  help  men  into  the  largest 
life? 

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